Digital Investigations

Sector Forensics will guide you from start to finish throughout e-investigations, giving advice on planning including filling out Electronic Document Questionnaires (EDQ) and managing ediscovery and edisclosure exercises that are proportional to the case so that case costs don't escalate out of control. Sector Forensics can act as a single joint expert with complete independence or can aid you in managing multiple forensic companies carrying out various stages of the process.

Sector Forensics has vast experience of examining emails and documents involved in Civil cases to provide evidence for verification of authenticity.

Has your clients digital profile been abused online or are you or your client the victim of the alleged abuse? We have experience with advising on and carrying out forensic investigations pertaining to all of the commonly used online locations and applications including abuses on Company, Dating and Revenge Porn Websites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp and Kik Messenger.

Investigations involving stealing or misusing proprietary information from either a company or person. The information includes areas such as copyrights, trademarks, client contact information, trade secrets, patents and computer code.

Proactive and reactive advise and investigations pertaining to clients suspected of or victims of corporate theft.

If your client has been accused of stealing, use or misuse of employer's assets without permission or is a victim of the corporate theft then we will sensitively provide assistance in this delicate situation.

Sector Forensics has many years of experience in working alongside the legal sector carrying out discovery and disclosure exercises pertaining to matrimonial disputes including complex high profile multi-million pound cases spanning the globe involving intellectual property, patents, computer code and company ownership disputes. One such example was where investigations were carried out on behalf of Martin Coward's legal team ('IKOS vs COWARD').

Sector Forensics has acted on court orders to carry out digital searches and securing of computer systems contained on premises, as well as advise solicitors on the seizure of digital evidence.

Examination of emails and documents pertaining to employment disputes where one side has alleged that key files have been altered to provide a different perspective on the claim.

Examinations on behalf of Law Enforcement pertaining to individuals accused of offences involving child abuse images with likely charges of:

Making, distributing, showing or advertising any indecent photograph of a child (section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978)

Possession of an indecent photograph of a child (section 160 of the Criminal Justic Act 1988).

Sector Forensics has advised and been instructed on thousands of cases on behalf of the defence and prosecution relating to investigations of this type.

Examinations on behalf of or pertaining to individuals accused of offences involving child abuse with likely charges of:

Causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity (section 10 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003), or engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child (section 11 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003)

Sector Forensics has advised, and been instructed on thousands of cases on behalf of the prosecution relating to investigations of this type.

Examinations on behalf of Law Enforcement pertaining to individuals accused of offences relating to the abuse of digital media e.g. Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp pertaining to the following legislation:

Improper use of public electronic communications network (section 127 of the Communications Act 2003)

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he-

(a) sends by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character; or
(b) causes any such message or matter to be so sent

(2) A person is guilty of an offence if, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another, he:

(a) send by means of public electronic communications network, a message that he knows to be false,
(b) causes such a message to be sent; or
(c) persistently makes use of a public electronic communications network.

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

(1) A person whose course of conduct causes another to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against him is guilty of an offence if he knows or ought to know what his course of conduct will cause the other so to fear on each of those occasions.

Sector Forensics has advised, and been instructed on a number of high profile cases relating to investigations of this type.

The offence of possession of extreme pornographic images in Part 5, section 63 to 67 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 came into force on 26 January 2009 and is not retrospective.

It is an offence to possess pornographic images that depict acts which threaten a person's life; acts which result in or are likely to result in serious injury to a person's anus, breasts or genitals; bestiality; or necrophilia.

Sector Forensics has advised, and been instructed on hundreds of cases relating to investigations of this type.

Provision of evidential data and advice pertaining to offences including:

Trafficking into the UK for sexual exploitation

Prostitution, soliciting, controlling causing or inciting prostitution for gain

Rape, Assault by penetration or sexual assault. Causing sexual activity without consent.

Child sex offences including abuse of position of trust

Preparatory offences including administering a substance with intent

Exposure, voyeurism, intercourse with an animal and necrophilia.

Sector Forensics has advised, and been instructed on hundreds of cases relating to investigations of this type.

Provision of evidential data and advice pertaining to offences including:

Suicide or Missing Persons - Investigation into social media and browsing history to build up a profile of a person(s) interests and recent online activity that may aid the search for the missing person or determine a possible cause of suicide.

Homicide - An analysis of a users activity on a digital device can place them at or away from a scene of crime. Data pertaining to purchase or use of equipment e.g. balaclava purchased from eBay, hire of vehicles, hotels booked, google map routes, satellite navigation devices, searching for news articles prior to being released to the press, communications with other persons can all be used in the prosecution or defence of a suspect.

Sector Forensics has advised, and been instructed on hundreds of cases relating to investigations of this type.

With the advent of computer controlled milling tools like the Ghost Gunner; it is now cheap and very easy to make a lower receiver (the body of a gun) which the other parts like the stock, barrel and magazine attach to. The lower receiver is the most regulated component of a gun and as such if you can make this part, the other components are readily available to buy. Thus over the next few years it is very likely that homemade firearms are going to be used more regularly in crime.

Sector Forensics has a wealth of experience in dealing with all cases pertaining to theft, robbery and firearms offences including ones pertaining to computer aided gun milling machines.

Provision of evidential data and advice pertaining to offences including:

The Firearms Act 1968 creates offences of:

Section 1 - Possession of a firearm/specially dangerous air weapon and certain ammunition without a certificate;

Section 2 - Possession of a shotgun without a certificate

Section 5 - Possession of a prohibited weapon.

Sector Forensics has advised, and been instructed on hundreds of cases relating to investigations of this type.

Sector Forensics offers a professional service with over 16 years experience of investigations into serious and complex fraud, bribery and corruption.

With experience of working alongside the SFO, as well as the Home Office, City of London Police's Economic Crime Directorate, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, UK Police forces, National Crime Agency's and Regional Organised Crime Units, our experienced and qualified forensic experts have carried out thousands of examinations and are able to provide a service structured to the requirements of the investigation.

Identity theft is the act of stealing personal details of an innocent victim to create fake identities and impersonate them in order to for example open bank accounts, obtain credit cards, order goods and services.

Sector Forensics has advised, and been instructed on hundreds of cases relating to investigations of this type.

Over the last 24 months Sector Forensics has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of criminal cases where the suspect has used the dark web in nefarious activity.

A majority of the cases used the Tor browser to avoid traffic analysis to access indecent material and to buy and sell firearms, drugs, and other elicit items.

Bitcoins are the main currency used on the dark web. Bitcoin works as a 'crypto-currency' allowing transfer of money using cryptography.

Sector Forensics has advised, and been instructed on cases relating to investigations of this type.

Digital forensics can aid any investigations pertaining to narcotics in the following ways:

Internet activity can reveal parcel tracking information, routing information from mapping software, access to dark web trading sites and cultivating equipment, maintenance and research for example can also provide data of interest.

Social media, text and email communications along with photographs generally provide good evidential data.

Sector Forensics sixteen years of experience in providing evidential data for cases of this type enables you to build your case up from solid foundations.

Digital forensics can aid any investigations pertaining to any type of gaming systems from home consoles to physical fruit machines:

Sector Forensics has successfully worked on cases pertaining to gaming systems ranging from investigations where the suspect had developed a way of hacking fruit machines to payout the top prizes; to the use of a Microsoft Xbox to groom a minor using social media.

Sector Forensics' years of experience in providing evidential data for cases of this type enables you to build your case up from solid foundations.