Yes, Really, How to Spend Less
You read that right. I’m going to tell you how to save money when working with a digital forensic expert. It may sound counterintuitive, but I believe an informed, satisfied client is far better for business than one who feels burned by costs or the process.
There are several areas where you or your client can avoid unnecessary expenses. While some of these points apply broadly to expert engagements, they’re especially important if you’ve never worked with a digital forensic investigator before and don’t know what pitfalls to watch for.
1. Don’t Hold Back Information
This isn’t a poker game. I’m not sitting across the table in sunglasses trying to outsmart you. My role is to help you win by uncovering the facts you need.
Longtime clients understand this well, but occasionally we’re handed a case with minimal details. It might sound like:
“Here’s the laptop. He left last Friday. Someone thinks they saw him with a USB drive.”
If that’s truly all you know, that’s fine. But more often, after we start digging, we discover things like:
- The employee had been using a large USB drive for work for at least a year.
- Most employees freely used cloud storage like Dropbox or OneDrive.
- There were emails with supervisors showing dissatisfaction with pay or position.
When we circle back and get, “Yes, we knew all that. What else did you find?” that’s time and money already spent chasing information the client could have shared up front.
Don’t worry that providing more details will somehow drive up the bill. In reality, it helps us build a clearer picture and pursue a more focused, efficient investigation, saving you money in the long run.
And when choosing a forensic partner, trust your instincts. Don’t get pressured or dazzled by technical jargon. Pick someone you feel comfortable sharing everything with, because your interests should be aligned.
2. Beware of Chasing the Lowest Estimate
Many people think shopping for the lowest estimate is the best way to save money. It often turns out to be the opposite.
We’ve seen plenty of situations where a project was awarded to someone offering a bargain estimate, only for the scope to balloon later. By the end, the client spent multiples of what was promised. Sometimes that’s because the provider simply didn’t understand what was required, or worse, low-balled the initial number knowing it would be hard for the client to walk away once the work started.
We’re frequently called in as the second expert to clean up after these failed attempts. Often we’ll go out of our way to minimize further costs, sometimes even at our own expense, just to help the client out of a difficult spot.
3. Avoid Inexperienced or Unqualified Providers
Experience matters, especially when your case involves digital evidence tied to litigation or even an internal administrative action.
Many companies turn first to their IT provider. But most IT teams aren’t investigators, nor are they licensed to perform this kind of work. Aside from the obvious risk of tampering with evidence, any money spent on an IT provider trying to act as a forensic investigator is often wasted.
This isn’t to say IT can’t play a role. Most outsourced IT teams are highly competent in what they do, but they’re not specialists in forensic evidence collection or courtroom-ready investigations. Stick to experts who focus on this discipline.
4. Use Your IT Resources Strategically
That said, your IT team can absolutely help you save money on an investigation.
Skilled IT personnel often know exactly who’s doing what on your systems and how people connect across your office. They’re also far less likely to raise suspicion when accessing a computer or phone. That means they can quietly:
- Identify and retrieve the right devices.
- Assist in taking forensic images.
- Document and maintain chain of custody.
We have several long-term clients whose internal teams we’ve trained to capture forensic images themselves. That means by the time we get involved, we’re handed properly documented evidence, avoiding the need for us to spend billable hours on initial retrieval.
Invest Smart, Not Just Cheap
Taken together, these strategies can save significant money on your digital forensic matters without compromising the integrity of the evidence. Too often, trying to cut corners upfront leads to more time spent, potential loss of evidence, and higher costs later.
Better to get it right from the start and truly save in the long run.
About Swailes Computer Forensics
Swailes Computer Forensics provides expert digital forensic services to law firms, corporations, and organizations nationwide. Our work includes investigations into intellectual property theft, employee misconduct, data breaches, and more. With decades of experience and a commitment to integrity and clarity, we help clients uncover critical evidence and take informed action.
If you’re facing a potential case of employee data theft or have concerns about unauthorized activity, contact us for a confidential consultation.