Ruhnka, John and Bagby, John
Communications of the ACM; July 2010, Vol. 53 Issue 7, pp. 142-144

The article discusses the management of electronically stored business information in the context of pre-trial legal discovery proceedings. Statistics on the typical amount of litigation faced by U.S. firms are presented, and the usefulness of outsourcing parts of the electronic discovery process is noted. Multi-disciplinary teams are often tasked with handling litigation holds, as such holds impose a legal obligation to preserve any information which could reasonably be considered relevant to an ongoing lawsuit. The issue of proprietary information is also discussed in this context.

Ruhnka, John, and Bagby, John W.
CPA Journal; Vol. 78 Issue 6, p. 68-71.

In this article, the authors discuss the forensic implications of metadata in electronic files in the U.S. According to the authors, metadata in electronic files can play a potentially critical role in litigation outcomes because it reveals forensic information about the creation, authorship, history, and even intent of a document. They suggest that metadata may be removed in the ordinary course of business as necessary to preserve enterprise and client confidentiality.

Ruhnka, John and Bagby, John W

CPA Journal Vol. 77 Issue 5, pp. 50-56

The article offers suggestions regarding the management of electronic data discovery (EDD) in litigation in the U.S. Familiarity with EDD is necessary to conduct internal investigations, as well as to identify and disclose electronically stored information (ESI) to litigation opponents, regulators, or prosecutors. Many potential parties to a lawsuit are not knowledgeable about electronic records management (ERM) practices or their legal obligations when served with a discovery request.

Bagby, J.W. and Ruhnka, J.C.
Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law Vol. 1, Issue 2, p. 39-67

This paper describes a cyber-forensics course that integrates important public policy and legal issues as well as relevant forensic techniques. Cyber-forensics refers to the amalgam of multi-disciplinary activities involved in the identification, gathering, handling, custody, use and security of electronic files and records, involving expertise from the forensic domain, and which produces evidence useful in the proof of facts for both commercial and legal activities. The legal and regulatory environment in which electronic discovery takes place is of critical importance to cyber-forensics experts because the legal process imposes both constraints and opportunities for the effective use of evidence gathered through cyber-forensic techniques. This paper discusses different pedagogies that can be used (including project teams, research and writing assignments, student presentations, case analyses, class activities and participation and examinations), evaluation methods, problem-based learning approaches and critical thinking analysis. A survey and evaluation is provided of the growing body of applicable print and online materials that can be utilized. Target populations for such a course includes students with majors, minors or supporting elective coursework in law, information sciences, information technology, computer science, computer engineering, financial fraud, security and information assurance, forensic aspects of cyber security, privacy, and electronic commerce.

John W. Bagby and John C. Ruhnka
Journal of Digital Forensics Security and Law Vol. 1, Issue 1, p. 5-18

Most organizations and government agencies regularly become engaged in litigation with suppliers, customers, clients, employees, competitors, shareholders, prosecutors or regulatory agencies that nearly assures the need to organize, retain, find and produce business records and correspondence, e-mails, accounting records or other data relevant to disputed issues. This article discusses some high visibility cases that constrain how metadata and content is routinely made available to opposing parties in civil litigation, to prosecutors in criminal prosecutions and to agency staff in regulatory enforcement litigation. Public policy, as implemented in the rules of evidence and pretrial discovery, restrict electronic data discovery (EDD) as it becomes a predominant and potentially costly pre-trial activity pivotal to modern litigation. This article discusses these constraints while identifying opportunities for the interdisciplinary activities among litigators, forensic experts and information technology professionals.

Bagby, John W. and Ruhnka, John C.
CPA Journal Vol. 74 Issue 4, p. 64-69

Focuses on the importance of monitoring and protecting Internet domain names. Functions of domain names in e-commerce; General approaches to Internet operations; Strategies for protecting domain name assets.