TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT
Our Policies and Terms of Engagement
This page sets out how we take work, how we hold evidence, and what happens to your material when a matter ends.
Enetsec is a digital forensics laboratory in Boca Raton, Florida, operating since 1999. These terms govern every engagement we accept. The laws of Florida, USA, govern these terms, and all investigations are conducted in compliance with applicable laws. Evidence is held encrypted and released only to the client of record.
It is written to be read before you engage us, not after.
Attorneys should read the retention and disposition sections in particular, because those are the two clauses that most often matter later. If a term here conflicts with a signed engagement letter, the engagement letter controls.
CLAUSE 01
Governing Law
The laws of Florida, USA, govern these terms. All investigations are conducted in compliance with applicable laws.
That second sentence is not a formality. A forensic examination that is obtained unlawfully is worth nothing to the party that paid for it, and it exposes the examiner as well as the client. We decline engagements that would require us to act outside the law of the jurisdiction the evidence sits in, including requests to access accounts or devices the client does not own or lawfully control. The refusals we apply are set out in full in our code of ethics and business conduct.
CLAUSE 02
Confidentiality of Engagements
We treat the existence of an engagement as confidential, not only its contents.
We do not confirm to third parties that a person or company is a client. We do not name clients in marketing without written permission. We do not discuss findings with anyone outside the matter, and that obligation continues after the matter closes. Where an engagement is attorney-retained, our confidentiality obligation runs to counsel and our report is delivered to counsel, so that the work stays inside the attorney’s control until counsel elects to disclose it.
The exceptions are narrow and we name them rather than burying them. We will comply with a lawful court order or a subpoena we cannot properly resist, and we will notify you before we do so unless the order forbids notice. We will also disclose where you instruct us to in writing.
In our experience, the confidentiality question that actually worries people is a smaller one: who inside the laboratory sees the material. The answer is the assigned examiner, and the founder where a matter requires review. Nobody else.
CLAUSE 03
Evidence Handling and Chain of Custody
Every item we receive is logged on arrival with its identifier, its physical condition, the date and time, and the name of the person who delivered it. We acquire a forensic image and verify it against the original with a cryptographic hash. Analysis is performed on the verified image. The original is sealed and stored.
Every subsequent transfer, whether between people or between storage states, is recorded and signed. That log is not an internal document. It is delivered with the report, because a finding without a custody record is a finding that can be attacked without ever being examined. The procedure is described in more detail on our digital forensics laboratory page.
CLAUSE 04
Encryption in Custody
Forensic images, working copies and case files are held on encrypted storage, and are encrypted at rest for the whole period we hold them. Original media is stored offline and physically secured.
We do not place client evidence on consumer cloud storage services. We do not send case material over unencrypted email. Where a client requires a specific transfer method, key handling arrangement or jurisdictional storage constraint, tell us at intake and we will confirm in writing whether we can meet it before the engagement begins. We will say no rather than agree to something we cannot verify.
CLAUSE 05
Retention and Disposition of Evidence
We retain forensic images and reports for the duration of the matter and for a defined retention period after it closes. The reason is practical. A matter that settles can reopen on appeal, and an examiner who has already destroyed the image cannot support the report he signed.
YOUR THREE INSTRUCTIONS
At any point you may instruct us in writing to do one of three things: extend the retention period, return your original media and a copy of the case file to you, or securely destroy our copies. Destruction is performed by cryptographic erasure or physical destruction of the media, and we issue a written certificate confirming what was destroyed and when. We will not destroy material that is subject to a litigation hold or a preservation order, and we will tell you if we believe one applies.
CLAUSE 06
Your Rights Over Your Own Material
The evidence is yours. We hold it as custodian, not as owner.
You are entitled to a copy of your case file, the chain of custody log, and the forensic image, subject to any lawful restriction on the material itself. You may direct where the report goes. You may terminate the engagement, in which case we deliver the work completed to date and return or destroy the material on your instruction. Our conclusions remain our own, because a report we would not defend under oath is a report we will not sign. That principle is set out on the expert witness page.
CLAUSE 07
Questions About These Terms
If any clause here affects a decision you are about to make, ask us before you engage us rather than after. Call the Boca Raton laboratory at (561) 846-9010 Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, or contact us at 3651 FAU Boulevard Ste 400, Boca Raton, FL 33431. Common questions about handling, retention and confidentiality are also answered on our FAQ page.