Hi everyone.
I've got a case that has resulted in a bit of a tangled mess, and I'm looking for some opinions on how to handle the situation.
A large corporation hired my team to perform an extensive amount of forensic work. During the course of the investigation, it became apparent that two of the employees of the corporation had personal health and financial information stored on their laptops.
When these laptops were brought to us originally, it was stated that these were the personal laptops of the employees.
When the discovery of the PHI and financial information was made, we notified the employees that this information was (because of the way the employer requested the services) a part of what was supposed to be turned over to the employer.
Obviously, the employees did not want the PHI and financial information disclosed to the employer.
We made the decision to hold the information obtained from these two laptops until we could get the situation sorted out.
At one point, one of the employees returned to our offices with his "personal" laptop, which had a sticker on the bottom of it that states it is the property of the employer (to be clear I was not part of the initial intake of these devices).
My team is now in a difficult position, and we're concerned about liability. Aside from that, the corporation is withholding payment, and now wants us to turn over the forensic images we took initially of the two laptops.
How would any of you - or your companies - go about handling this situation?
I'd've gone to corp counsel as soon as it was evident that PHI was on a system.
you sould advice to useing efs to the company to avoid this intellectual property corruption
you can report all of your findings?
I'd've gone to corp counsel as soon as it was evident that PHI was on a system.
Harlan is right. Before doing any examinations, have your "Drop and Roll" procedure worked out. If I were your client, I would probably do the same and withhold payment until the issue was completely resolved.
