HTCIA 3rd Annual Asia Pacific Regional Training Conference
Presenter Details

Presenter - Mr. Nigel Carson, Executive Manager, Forensic IT, Sydney office, Ferrier Hodgson

Areas of Specialisation

Nigel is the technical lead for Ferrier Hodgson’s Forensic IT services in Australasia.  He is responsible for development and provision of these specialist services which include traditional computer forensics, insolvency  investigation and electronic discovery.

 

 

Key industry expertise

  • Music Piracy ( Kazaa)
  • Software Piracy (Ripit4Me)
  • Video Piracy (iiNET)
  • IP theft by employees
  • Breach of Contract
  • Employee misuse of internet and resources
  • Criminal Investigation
  • Disaster Recovery
  • Policy Development
  • Data Recovery
  • Internet Investigations

Professional background

Prior to joining Ferrier Hodgson, Nigel’s experience in computer forensics included:

  • Four years of computer forensics investigation within the Special Technical Investigation Branch of the NSW Police Service, supporting major criminal investigations for NSW Police and other Government departments including ASIO and the Crime Commission; and
  • Several years as an IT Security Manager, including at Coca Cola Amatil.

Examples of previous assignments

In the course of his career, Nigel has analysed all commonly found forms of computer systems, ranging from corporate and institutional computer systems and networks, to single site or single desk computer servers and home computers. He has presented expert reports or provided expert evidence in computer forensics for numerous civil and criminal proceedings at all levels of the judicial process, including copyright matters, fraud, drug supply, child protection matters, homicide investigations and cyber crimes.

Nigel has been involved in numerous significant forensic investigations, including:

  • In 2000 Nigel assisted in the execution of a search warrant of the Manly office of One Nation in connection with electoral fraud, and subsequently gave expert evidence at the trial of Pauline Hanson and David Ettridge. 
  • In 2000 Nigel participated in the search and seizure, under federal search warrant, of computer evidence from the residence of one of the directors of HIH.
  • In 2003 and 2004 Nigel assisted Gilbert + Tobin lawyers in executing a number of Anton Piller orders at the premises of internet service providers (ISPs) in connection with alleged music piracy investigations. 
  • In 2005 Nigel gave expert evidence concerning the features and operation of the ‘Kazaa’ internet-based file sharing system on behalf of the applicants in Universal Music Australia Pty Limited v Sharman Licence Holdings Limited [2002] FCA 1242.
  • Also in 2005 - gave expert evidence on behalf of companies in the FOXTEL Group in relation to my investigations of internet-based piracy of the FOXTEL subscription television service (FOXTEL Management Pty Ltd & Anor. v The Mod Shop Pty Ltd and Others, Federal Court Proceedings No. 912 of 2004).  
  • Also in 2005 - was involved in the expert’s conclave to attempt resolution of the issues addressed by Judge Wilcox in his Judgement against the operators of ‘Kazaa’.
  • In 2006 - gave expert testimony in the matter of Vivid Entertainment LLC & Ors v Digital Sinema Australia Pty Ltd & Ors in the Federal Magistrates Court SYG 1341 of 2006. This followed my investigation in connection with the misuse of intellectual property in the form of customer lists and the comparison of database records. 
  • In 2007 - was involved in the electronic discovery of records extracted from Unix based tape archives in connection with the matter of Autodesk ats Spatialinfo & Telstra FCP VID240 of 2004..
  • In 2008-2009 - provided expert evidence in the matter of Village Roadshow & Ors v iiNET ISP involving copyright theft of major motion pictures through the use of the BitTorrent protocol. 
  • In 2009 – provided evidence for the plaintiff in the matter of Akai Holdings v Ernst & Young Commercial Action No. 29 of 2004 in High Court of Hong Kong regarding the backdating and falsification of audit documents. This resulted in a favourable settlement for Akai being a substantial portion of the US$1.1 Billion damages claim.

Presentation: Tales from the Darkside – Risk management and DR in managing computer forensic cases.

Nigel discusses a number of  potential disaster situations in computer forensic assignments, legal pitfalls and various risk avoidance and mitigation strategies.