What is Evidence Preservation?
You probably know it from television: an apartment is searched for evidence of a criminal offense on the basis of a search warrant. In a corner, the officers find a desk with a computer. An expert is immediately requested to examine the data on the hard drive on site and secure the evidence contained therein.
This type of presentation has of course been upgraded for television in order to guarantee a certain level of suspense. In fact, in such cases, the computer is taken as is and examined under special conditions. However, such an examination may also be necessary for a company's computers, depending on the type of crime suspected. Possible types are:
- Possessing and/or distributing child pornography material.
- Possessing and/or distributing copyrighted works without permission (copyright lawsuit).
- Possessing and/or distributing racist, radical or other illegal content.
- Data espionage.
- Data manipulation (e.g. hacking).
- However, improper backup and protection of data in a company can also be considered a criminal offence.
- The unblocked access of young people (e.g. interns and trainees) to websites that are harmful to young people.
Of course, I would also be happy to advise you on these topics.
Who commissions an evidence preservation procedure?
Evidence preservation procedures are usually commissioned by the police and/or public prosecutor's office.