Back in olden times (like, a decade ago), an internal investigation involving corporate data was fairly straightforward. With most organizations using a castle-and-moat security strategy, and the majority of employees using company networks and devices, downloading data from on-premises servers was a relatively simple task.
But the data explosion coming from the multitude of devices used by far-flung employees has changed the digital investigation landscape. Corporate communication tools like Slack and Teams create a trove of data, as do social media apps, mobile devices, and cloud-based auxiliary software like Google Docs and Office 365.
In addition to presenting problems for IT teams who must manage storage and prevent siloing of data, this data tangle can hinder corporate investigations, which often hinge on information that can be gleaned from company-owned devices. How can this data be accessed and analyzed efficiently?
Here we look at the four common problems that slow down corporate digital investigations, and how to fix them.
Issue 1: As more employees work outside of the office, collecting data from the expanding number of devices on a variety of networks has become increasingly difficult.
The trend toward hybrid work schedules and remote positions greatly expanded during the pandemic and is expected to continue. Gartner estimated that 71% of US knowledge workers worked at least some time at home. This has meant that corporate data is generated miles, and sometimes continents, away from headquarters.
The solution: Ideally, investigators can collect data from endpoints no matter where it’s generated or stored. Devices stay in users’ possession as data is collected using cloud extraction support and remote collections.
Oxygen Corporate Explorer has been designed specifically for the investigative needs of businesses and organizations with diverse and remote endpoints. It collects relevant system files, logs, and user data quickly from workstations, cloud providers, and mobile and IoT devices. Extractions are customizable and fast, and they don’t interfere with the employee’s workflow.
Issue 2: The devices used by today’s hybrid employees often contain both their personal data and work data. Investigators need to restrict their collections to just the corporate data needed for the task at hand.
The solution: Using a tool that enables searches that focus solely on the relevant data types eliminates having to painstakingly remove irrelevant data from the results and makes it easier to meet privacy rules and regulations.
With Oxygen Corporate Explorer, users have the ability to perform highly targeted collections based on custom profiles. They can find relevant data, including encrypted data, with pinpoint accuracy. For instance, an investigation may need Slack data from among three employees on a particular day. Oxygen Corporate Explorer can home in on that specific data set quickly and efficiently.
Issue 3: Organizations’ internal investigations often need to remain discreet, which can be difficult if investigators are required to gather data from employees’ work devices.
The solution: Collection technology that allows devices to stay in their user’s possession can keep sensitive investigations private and efficient.
Oxygen Corporate Explorer enables its users to perform live, remote data collection and provides the powerful cloud extraction capabilities needed to support confidential investigations.
Issue 4: Collecting data on a regular basis from organization-owned devices repeatedly takes time when done manually and can lead to errors and missed collections.
The solution: The ability to create, save, and schedule collections can save effort and reduce the opportunity for error.
Oxygen Corporate Explorer enables both manual data collection and automated collection that can be scheduled for specified times. The tool also allows for the creation of custom user profiles and profile groups, which can be deployed on setup on company-owned devices for future data collection.
The way to faster investigations is clear
Oxygen Corporate Explorer is a solution for internal corporate investigations that makes it easier to capture hard-to-reach data to deliver faster results, better analytics, and successful investigations. It’s the tool for collecting data from more than 100 cloud-based sources including Microsoft Teams, Microsoft SharePoint, Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, Google Workspace, and more, and supports over 41,000 app versions.