Computer Forensics Expert

The computer forensics expert must hold the official degree corresponding to the subject matter of the opinion and the nature of the opinion. If the subject matter is not covered by official professional degrees, experts must be appointed from among persons knowledgeable in those matters.

Currently, as with Industrial, Naval, Forestry and Agricultural Engineers, the official degree is COMPUTER ENGINEERING (a Master’s-level Computer Engineering degree or an equivalent university degree).

There are plainly preparatory certificates of only a few hours, whose exams are taken online in blocks of hundreds of people and which neither accredit nor make a genuine professional capable of carrying out expert analysis with the required diligence.

Computer forensics experts must hold a degree and therefore also be registered with a professional association. Although there are no formal professional attributions, the Administration has already begun to require this degree, registration and the endorsement (visado) of each computer expert report and valuation in order to guarantee that the expert’s judgment rests on a solid technical basis.

Is it mandatory for a computer forensics expert? Following the legislative changes of summer 2014, registration with a professional association is no longer mandatory for many professions. However, Forenlab has taken part in several trials in which the parties asked our expert: “Could you tell us your registration number?”.

Before a judge it is necessary to demonstrate the technical ability and competence needed to assess what has happened and to explain it in a simple, clear way. Registration is evidence of:

• Belonging to a professional body associated with the work performed.
• Holding an official degree.
• Having committed no prior negligence.
• Compliance with the code of professional ethics.

Besides being highly advisable, the law requires every expert and appraiser —which includes the computer forensics expert— to hold professional liability insurance. All of our expert reports are backed by professional liability insurance, giving courts and clients guarantees of compliance with current regulations and making it known that you will always be protected by that insurance.

The regulation of the computer forensics expert is mainly found in Chapter 6 and, within it, Section 5 of that Law.

Although it makes no direct reference to the computer forensics expert, this Law covers the work of each of the expert specialties.

Link to the Law (in Spanish)

Our expert reports comply with the ISO/IEC 27001:2011 standard, which ensures guarantees of confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.

This standard affects the structure of the expert report and its contents. The cover page, the index, the expert analysis, the confidentiality model, the tools used, etc., are prepared and used in accordance with this standard.

Law 34/2002 of July 11 on information society services and electronic commerce. The purpose of this Law is to incorporate into Spanish law Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 8 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce in the internal market (Directive on electronic commerce).

It also partially incorporates Directive 98/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 19 on injunctions for the protection of consumers’ interests, by regulating, in accordance with it, an action for an injunction against conduct that contravenes the provisions of this Law.

Easy guide to the LSSI (in Spanish) – Download

A computer forensics expert report is an official document signed by a Computer Engineer, resulting from the analysis of digital evidence previously obtained by third parties (law enforcement, IT staff, …), which details and explains, as simply and clearly as possible, the state of a computer system (email, computer, hard drive, software, etc…) and what may have led to that state.

The report will be aimed mainly at finding evidence, or analyzing evidence, related to the commission of a possible crime.

You can see the services we offer in the corresponding section of this website.

After you contact Forenlab, a member of our team will ask you to explain, as simply and briefly as possible, what services we can offer you. We will then send you a confidentiality agreement that guarantees professional secrecy and gives you a channel to send us information and documents if needed.

We will then send you a quote tailored to your needs, which we will explain to you by phone or in person and which you are free to accept or not. Once the quote is accepted, a different action protocol is established for each computer forensics expert report.

A computer forensics expert is necessary whenever a court proceeding, or a situation that could lead to one, involves elements related to computing, communication networks, software or email. When any item of evidence needs to be compared and its authenticity checked, the computer forensics expert will provide their experience and knowledge for that purpose.

The expert is also needed before the proceedings begin, since their findings often reveal evidence and indications that may amount to a criminal act.

Finally, and without forgetting that a computer forensics expert can be key to your company’s IT security, they can prepare rebuttal reports when another IT expert has issued a report with which the parties do not fully agree or in which errors were made in the process.

A computer valuation is a process in which an IT expert, in this case a computer forensics expert, carries out an economic appraisal of a computer system —software, hardware or both— so that individuals and companies can obtain a correct technological valuation.

After you contact Forenlab, a member of our team will ask you to explain, as simply and briefly as possible, what services we can offer you. We will then send you a confidentiality agreement that guarantees professional secrecy and gives you a channel to send us information and documents if needed.

We will then send you a quote tailored to your needs, which we will explain to you by phone or in person and which you are free to accept or not. Once the quote is accepted, we will tell you how the valuation will be carried out and which estimation models will be used according to your needs.

Many people are unaware of computer assets and systems as assets, or of their real value. In insolvency proceedings, company dissolutions or profit distributions, a computer valuation expert determines, on the basis of previously established methodologies, the correct value of the systems involved.

A valuation is also necessary to certify the correct value of a project, for example to justify aid and grants for developing such systems, within what is known as technology assessment.