Los Angeles Drive Imaging, File Recovery and Activity Analysis

Los Angeles Computer and Hard Drive Forensics

An employee resigns, a contractor delivers late or a confidential project turns up at a competitor, and the answer sits on a Los Angeles workstation and the accounts around it. Global Digital Forensics proves which files were opened, copied, uploaded or deleted, on which dates and through which channel. We image every drive behind a write blocker, rebuild the activity from system artifacts and set it out in a report written for California and federal court.

Get a Free Consultation Call (310) 694-3094

Bagged hard drive beside a forensic write blocker.

The engagement

The Workstation Still Settles Most File Disputes

Call the Los Angeles office at (310) 694-3094, or the 24/7 hotline at (800) 868-8189, and tell us what the dispute is about: a departure, a disputed delivery, a leak of confidential work. A project that moved between a Los Angeles office, an editing suite and an outside contractor rarely leaves a complete history in any one folder, so we scope the examination to the question and the machines able to answer it, which is almost always a smaller set than the first instinct suggests.

A forensic image captures what a file copy never will: the registry, event logs, link files, browser history and USB device records that show what a user actually did. We choose between a full image, a targeted acquisition and an examination of material you already hold based on authorization, device state, encryption and the evidence sought, and we document the choice so nobody has to defend it from memory at deposition.

Deleted file recovery is only the start. We compare the surviving files with application records, removable device history and cloud logs, and every conclusion stands on its own sources: the recovered document shows its contents, and the transfer artifacts show where it went and from which account. Attorneys have relied on that discipline since 1992, in federal district court, multidistrict litigation and arbitration.

If a laptop is scheduled for reissue this week, call (800) 868-8189 before IT touches it and we will tell you what to hold.

Scope

Workstation and drive acquisition
We identify the relevant laptops, desktops, external drives and authorized account access, then record custody, device identifiers and acquisition conditions so the evidence can be explained from the first minute.
File and activity reconstruction
We examine the available file system and application artifacts against the dates in dispute and compare local events with independently retained records wherever they exist.
Findings that show their reach
We explain each artifact, weigh the competing explanations and name any missing source, so counsel knows exactly how far every finding reaches.

Evidence commonly reviewed

What We Examine

We review the native project files, their versions and the accessible storage media, the application records and operating system artifacts that show how they were used, and the authorized sharing, identity and transfer logs that can corroborate what the device appears to show.

What you receive

What the Examination Delivers

An acquisition and custody record identifying every item examined, an activity timeline tied to its sources with the time zone handling stated, and a findings report that separates what we observed from what we interpret and flags any question that needs another source.

Want to know how that timeline would read for your dispute? Ask an examiner to walk you through the structure of the report.

Preserve the Workstation Before IT Reissues It

When an employee or contractor leaves a Los Angeles project, equipment reuse competes with preservation from the first day. Identify the device custodian and the upcoming reset, reissue or return dates, and make the preservation decision before routine maintenance changes what is available. Keep the original drive as it is and preserve it alongside any backup, because a forensic image holds system artifacts that most backups were never designed to keep.

For production workstations, document the connected storage and the application dependencies. A project file may reference material on another volume while the final deliverable carries no revision history at all, so decide early whether the examination concerns the project, the exported result or both. That decision keeps you from collecting terabytes of media that do not answer the disputed question while overlooking the small log that does.

Hash values fingerprint the acquired data and every working copy, so anyone can verify later that the evidence never changed. Authorship and completeness are proven from the artifacts and from corroborating sources such as a separately retained repository or the recipient’s copy. Solid state drives clear deleted blocks on their own schedule, which is one more reason to image early. Request a free consultation before the device is wiped and we will tell you what to preserve first.

Frequently asked

Copied Files, Reinstalls and Testimony

Can a hard drive prove that someone copied a file?

Often, yes. USB device history, link files, shell records and cloud sync logs can show a file moving to a specific device or account on a specific date. Tying that event to a person takes corroboration, such as logon records and who held the device, and the report sets out exactly which corroboration exists.

Should IT reinstall the operating system first?

Call us before any rebuild or reset; either one can wipe the artifacts that answer your question. We image first and hand the machine back quickly, so the business keeps running and the evidence survives.

Is this different from expert testimony?

They connect. The examination produces the technical findings; formal opinions, court reports and testimony are added through the Los Angeles expert witness service when the matter needs them, and the examiner who did the work is the one who explains it on the stand.

Los Angeles Practices and National Methods

National Computer and Hard Drive Forensics methods and scope

Los Angeles computer forensics and security services

NIST SP 800-86, Guide to Integrating Forensic Techniques into Incident Response

Name the Device, the Event and the Deadline

Describe the business question, the device types and the next planned change to the system. Keep the first note nonconfidential; we agree the scope and a protected evidence transfer before any records move.

Get a Free Consultation

Choose the Acquisition Around the Evidence Question

Tell us the custodian, the device condition, the encryption and access status, the disputed event and any planned reset or return, and we will confirm whether the supported method is a full forensic acquisition, a targeted export or an examination of material you already hold.

The acquisition inventory records each item in plain terms: the project folder preserved, the system artifacts captured, the encrypted volume still awaiting a key. Alongside it we log the method, the tool version, the handling, any change to the source and the integrity checks, so the report shows exactly which system artifacts were captured and how.

The timeline ties each finding to its source and explains its timestamps, separating opening, syncing and holding a file from creating it. Where overwriting or encryption has taken a record, the report says so and names the next best source.

NIST SP 800-86, Guide to Integrating Forensic Techniques into Incident Response

Once the device, the encryption state and the deadline are known, send them in a nonconfidential note and the acquisition method is the first thing we settle.

Talk with an examiner

Hold the Workstation and the Accounts Around It

List the machines, the dates and the question in dispute. A senior examiner will come back on access, timing and scope before anything is collected, in confidence.

Since 1992 · Los Angeles office (310) 694-3094 · Court tested examiners

What happens next

Secure the Drive Before the Evidence Changes

On the first call a senior examiner hears what happened, tells you what to hold today and how the device should travel, and outlines the examination and its timeline. The consultation is free and confidential.