BrazilAccuracy partner Rick Barker on the value of forensic technology
Rick Barker is a Partner of Accuracy in Italy and Head of the firm’s Forensic Technology Lab in Milan. He explains the basics of forensic technology and why companies would benefit from turning to the technology for answers.
So what is forensic technology exactly?
Forensic technology is by no means a new development. In recent years however, the service has rapidly gained ground in Europe’s corporate and legal landscape. The approach helps organsiations with extrapolating and managing big data in order to support decision-making.
Traditionally, forensic technology was used exclusively by law enforcement agencies in order to identify, recover and understand ‘hidden’ evidence on computers, mobile phones or for hacking servers. In this context, I gained my first experience as a police officer in Australia, after having obtained a degree in computer science. I worked as a detective in the Police’s cybercrime division, leveraging forensic technology to support investigations on homicides, sexual crimes, drug trafficking and fraud.
In the corporate world, forensic technology is mainly used as a tool to combat fraud, corruption, regulation and litigation. It allows investigators to find electronic evidence in documents, e-mails, and other communications such as chats, financial and commercial records and voice recordings. The methodology can also be used to identify the (digital) accountables of certain actions: who has destroyed data, who has stolen (intellectual property), who has hacked and so on.
Who is this service for?
Companies often have to defend themselves against accusations or threats. At Accuracy, we assist local, national and international companies that face fraud, corruption, litigation, security threats, antitrust issues, regulatory violations, joint-venture disputes, labour law issues, competition violations, financial difficulties and much more. Generally, large companies that are regulated or operate in developing countries face the largest risks – however, no company is immune to such challenges. Forensic technology can therefore also be applied for smaller disputes at small and midsized companies.
Rick Barker joined Accuracy in the summer of 2017 and was appointed a Partner in January this year. He previously led the Forensic Technology of Deloitte in the Middle East and worked several years for EY.
