Intellectual Property (IP) Theft occurs when individuals “steal” documents, programs or other intellectual property belonging to someone else for the purpose of using them for their own personal or business gain.

Many IP Thefts occur when a disgruntled employee steals company information to take to a new job or sends the information onto a rival company. IP Theft can be very difficult to prove but it is possible and, depending on the individual case, analysts can use a variety of forensic techniques such as metadata analysis, email analysis and user activity analysis in reconstructing the suspects activities. It may be possible to identify files which have been changed by a user or copied to external media such as USB memory sticks or that have been sent out via email. Analysis of pertinent mobile phones will extract messages and call logs which may complement the findings from the computer analysis, demonstrating that the IP theft was planned and carried out.

The most important aspect of IP theft cases, as with all computer forensic investigations, is to ensure that the original files are preserved and so it is vital that any suspected computers are NOT turned on and to contact Aperio DI promptly for free advice and guidance on the correct steps to take.