Computer Forensics Analysis Project
Computer Forensics I (FOR 240-81A)
Project #3
Case Background
The Suni Munshani v. Signal Lake Venture Fund II, LP, et al suit is about email tampering, perjury, and fraud. On December 18, 2000, Suni Munshani (Plaintiff) filed a suit against Signal Lake Venture Fund. Mr. Munshani claimed that he was entitled to warrants in excess of $25 million dollars from Signal Lake. In February 2001, Signal Lake Venture Fund II, LP, et al. (Defendant) became privy to the court filings in this case. Within the filings there was an email provided by Mr. Munshani from Hemant Trivedi, CEO of one of the portfolio companies, stating he was indeed entitled to the warrants. Mr. Trivedi denied any knowledge of the email, or any such communication with Mr. Munshani. In an effort to prove their innocence, Signal Lake hired a computer forensic group to conduct a private investigation. The investigation did not show any evidence of the supposed email provided to the court by Mr. Munshani.
Mr. Trivedi filed an affidavit stating that the email was forged, while Mr. Munshani filed an affidavit stating the email was real. In March 2001, a computer forensics expert, Kenneth R. Shear, was appointed by the court to perform a forensic examination on the questioned message (the message provided by Mr. Munshani) and the comparative message (a second message from Mr. Trivedi found on Mr. Munshani’s computer). Mr. Shear worked for a company called Electronic Evidence Discovery, Inc. (EED).
Mr. Shear’s forensic analysis involved the examination of 33 drives of both Mr. Munshani and Mr. Trivedi. The drives included laptops, personal computers, tape disks, and SCSI backups. In addition, multiple CDROM’s were analyzed. The report was written in a format that explained complicated details so that a layman could understand. A variety of software and techniques were used in the imaging and evaluation of the drives. Duplicate “mirror” copies of the computer hard drives were performed using a computer
Project #3
Case Background
The Suni Munshani v. Signal Lake Venture Fund II, LP, et al suit is about email tampering, perjury, and fraud. On December 18, 2000, Suni Munshani (Plaintiff) filed a suit against Signal Lake Venture Fund. Mr. Munshani claimed that he was entitled to warrants in excess of $25 million dollars from Signal Lake. In February 2001, Signal Lake Venture Fund II, LP, et al. (Defendant) became privy to the court filings in this case. Within the filings there was an email provided by Mr. Munshani from Hemant Trivedi, CEO of one of the portfolio companies, stating he was indeed entitled to the warrants. Mr. Trivedi denied any knowledge of the email, or any such communication with Mr. Munshani. In an effort to prove their innocence, Signal Lake hired a computer forensic group to conduct a private investigation. The investigation did not show any evidence of the supposed email provided to the court by Mr. Munshani.
Mr. Trivedi filed an affidavit stating that the email was forged, while Mr. Munshani filed an affidavit stating the email was real. In March 2001, a computer forensics expert, Kenneth R. Shear, was appointed by the court to perform a forensic examination on the questioned message (the message provided by Mr. Munshani) and the comparative message (a second message from Mr. Trivedi found on Mr. Munshani’s computer). Mr. Shear worked for a company called Electronic Evidence Discovery, Inc. (EED).
Mr. Shear’s forensic analysis involved the examination of 33 drives of both Mr. Munshani and Mr. Trivedi. The drives included laptops, personal computers, tape disks, and SCSI backups. In addition, multiple CDROM’s were analyzed. The report was written in a format that explained complicated details so that a layman could understand. A variety of software and techniques were used in the imaging and evaluation of the drives. Duplicate “mirror” copies of the computer hard drives were performed using a computer
References: Shear, Kenneth. Report of Kenneth Shear. 12 September 2001. <http://www.signallake.com/litigation/shear_report_munshani.pdf>. Suni Munshani v. Signal Lake Venture Fund II, LP, et al. 1-7. No. 00-5529. Suffolk County Superior Court. 9 October 2001. <http://www.signallake.com/litigation/ma_order_munhshani.pdf>. Weigarten, Michael and Adam Weingarten. Email Tampering - This Time, The Good Guys Won. January 2002. Business Communications Review. <http://www.signallake.com/litigation/emailtampering.pdf>.