Guidance Software Highlights Key Recent Legal Developments That Further Bolster the Validity of EnCase®

Business Wire, Jan 29, 2008

The New and Updated EnCase[R] Legal Journal, a Popular Computer Forensics and eDiscovery Industry Resource, is now Available Online

PASADENA, Calif. -- Guidance Software (NASDAQ: GUID) has released the latest edition of The EnCase Legal Journal, an online resource that details recent court rulings and other important legal developments involving the successful use of Guidance Software's EnCase[R] software in eDiscovery matters and criminal prosecutions.

The EnCase Legal Journal is a valuable resource for prosecutors, corporate counsel and computer investigators worldwide. Available online at www.guidancesoftware.com/support/legalresources.aspx, it compiles dozens of published legal decisions, mostly at the appellate court level, and other legal developments that validate and highlight unanimous judicial acceptance of EnCase software. Four key additions to this new edition of The EnCase Legal Journal include:

People v. Shinohara(1): EnCase Validated by Appellate Court

This important ruling, recently issued by an Illinois Appellate Court, follows several previous courts in reinforcing the legal acceptance of Guidance Software's EnCase. The court found that EnCase established the authenticity of key computer evidence at trial. The Court's published opinion states: "the EnCase software has a computer industry standard built into it, known as MD-5 hash, which utilizes an algorithm to verify that the image it is taking of a hard drive is accurate. Application of this standard during the copying process reflected that the EnCase software was operating properly. Accordingly, we conclude that the State presented sufficient evidence to establish that the EnCase software was functioning properly when [the State Computer Crime Investigator] utilized it and ensured that the images presented at trial accurately portrayed the images on defendant's computer." Accordingly, the Appellate Court upheld the Defendant's conviction for possession of child pornography. This case serves as controlling authority in Illinois and strong influential authority for the rest of the United States.

United States v. Bhownath(2): Court Upholds Legality of Automated Computer Forensics Search with EnCase vs. Manual Investigation of Files

This is a federal software piracy prosecution brought in United States District Court, Utah. The published opinion written by the Court reflects that the FBI successfully used Guidance's Software's EnCase software to conduct its computer forensics examination. The specific issues relating to EnCase in Bhownath centered on Fourth Amendment concerns under the United States Constitution regarding whether the issued search warrant was rendered overbroad by virtue of utilizing EnCase's powerful keyword searching capabilities, which enabled the investigator to search every file on the seized computer in an automated fashion, as opposed to manually opening specific documents with file names suggestive of software piracy. The Court denied the Defendant's motion to suppress evidence, finding that the evidence identified and recovered by EnCase was properly done without infringing upon the Fourth Amendment rights of the defendant.

Guidance Software Receives Highest Possible Rating by Leading Industry Analyst Firm, Gartner

When U.S. courts determine the validity of a technology that collects or generates scientific or technical evidence, the court applies four key factors as part of its legal vetting process. Two of the factors include the degree of industry acceptance of the subject technology and the extent of peer review and publication addressing that technology. This edition of the Legal Journal again addresses the legal significance of favorable industry analyst review through the inclusion of a rating by Gartner, a leading industry analyst firm, who gave Guidance Software its highest possible(a) rating, "Strong Positive" in its latest MarketScope for E-Discovery and Litigation Support Vendors, 2007. The Gartner report is available, compliments of Guidance Software at http://www.guidancesoftware.com/downloads/GartnerScopeNote.pdf?Reg=1.

Recent Court Decisions Involving the eDiscovery Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Section 9 of The EnCase Legal Journal has been updated to address numerous recent court decisions that apply and interpret the December 2006 eDiscovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and how the features and capabilities of the EnCase eDiscovery software map to and enable compliance with these requirements.

About Guidance Software (GUID)

Guidance Software is recognized worldwide as the industry leader in digital investigative solutions. Its EnCase[R] platform provides the foundation for government, corporate and law enforcement organizations to conduct thorough, network-enabled, and court-validated computer investigations of any kind, such as responding to eDiscovery requests, conducting internal investigations, responding to regulatory inquiries or performing data and compliance auditing -- all while maintaining the integrity of the data. There are more than 20,000 licensed users of the EnCase[R] technology worldwide, and thousands attend Guidance Software's renowned training programs annually. Validated by numerous courts, corporate legal departments, government agencies and law enforcement organizations worldwide, EnCase is also frequently honored with industry awards and recognition from eWEEK, SC Magazine, Network Computing, and the Socha-Gelbmann survey. For more information about Guidance Software, visit www.guidancesoftware.com.