Question

I have a quick question in regards to digital forensics. Can security staff at a checkpoint of a private sector company that has a sign at the checkpoint stating that the purpose of the checkpoint is for security staff to check for weapons or other materials that may be detrimental to the working environment and employee safety be allowed to check someones briefcase and seize any potential digital evidence on reasonable suspicion that the member is stealing intellectual property from the company as mentioned by one of the employers?

Answer 1

Answer:

It could be argued in court that a search of Mr. Jackson’s briefcase could be in accordance with company policy in that, in his exit interview, his comments suggested that he intended to harm the working environment of ATS. Namely, his theft of “Project X” IP would serve to degrade ATS’s ability to provide a safe and secure environment by losing out on the revenue that “Project X” is expected to bring in the future. The lack of expected funding could severely degrade ATS’s ability to continue infrastructure, health and comfort, and security maintenance/upgrades. Regardless of the legal spin, Mr. Jackson’s comments indicated his intent to harm ATS. As such, it is not unreasonable, nor unlawful to ask the security checkpoint to perform a search of Mr. Jackson’s briefcase.

As stated in a previous response, ATS, as a private company, is not held to Fourth Amendment standards. Therefore, assuming that employees understand that personal property searches can be conducted, ATS is within its legal right to search Mr. Jackson’s briefcase if it believes a theft of company property has occurred (“Workplace Searches,” n.d.). ATS’s scope is limited however, it the confines of the legal place of business (“Workplace Searches,” n.d.). For example, ATS cannot go to Mr. Jackson’s house and perform a search, it would need to notify law enforcement and obtain a search warrant in this situation (“Workplace Searches,” n.d.).

Explanation:

In a paper by Mr. Robert Rowlingson, he lays out that a sound forensic readiness plan offers several benefits to any organization. Namely, benefits include due-dilligence, crime deterrence, cost reductions via systematic and structured methods to obtaining and storing evidence, sound corporate governance of information assets, and demonstrating sound regulatory compliance (Rowlingson, 2004). Further, by implementing a sound forensic readiness plan, interactions with law enforcement, including sharing of evidence will be greatly enhanced (Rowlingson, 2004). Finally, one more benefit of this sort of plan is that it supports enforcement of employee acceptable use policies, and provides suitable sanctions in the event this and other policies are violated