The trail we leave......

I recently saw a note about a legal case where the employer suspected that an employee had misappropriated the employer's confidential information shortly before leaving.   For me, the interesting point that emerged was what computer experts who examined the various computers could find out.

This included:
-   that a work computer had had devices (such as a USB stick) attached to it, and the nature of the information that had been downloaded to these;
-   that file destruction applications (such as "File Shredder" and "CCleaner") had been run on the work computer and a home computer, and the date that this software had been run; and
-   various Google searches had been undertaken on a computer, including the exact nature of the enquiry (such as, "what happens if you don't comply with a Court order").

It all serves as a reminder that you leave quite a footprint when you use a computer, which can be brought to light if someone with sufficient expertise sets out to look for it - even though a person might take steps to cover their activities.    But, for what it's worth, it was stated that the use of the file shredding software meant that the emails which had been destroyed were, in fact, irretrievable on the computer - although since the authorities are said to receive information about all our activities on the internet, perhaps this information, too, is around somewhere (even if the recipient has also destroyed them).