Expedite forensic research and investigations

Forensic search is a process that involves the use of forensic techniques to search conversations and collect electronic data that may be used as evidence in internal or external investigations. The process of conducting forensic research and investigations begins with identifying the electronic data that may be relevant, usually based on custodian, data, location, and data type. Within collaboration datasets, this data has historically proven difficult to access, but Aware’s automated search functionality brings forensic research to conversations in Slack, Teams, Zoom, and more.

Organizations use federated search to investigate multiple databases or sources simultaneously and present the results from a single pane of glass. Federated search is particularly useful when searching lots of data or information stored in multiple databases. As over 90% of organizations use at least two collaboration tools (Slack, Teams, Zoom, etc.), federated search from Aware enables investigations into all locations simultaneously.

Aware enables forensic research and investigations into collaboration data from all major tools, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Webex by Cisco, Zoom Team Chat, Google Drive, Workplace from Meta and more. The Aware Context API further enables developer teams to connect internal collaboration tools to Aware’s intelligent data fabric, providing the same industry-leading insights and analysis to almost any conversation dataset.

As an employee, your Slack messages are accessible and searchable to some users depending on the settings imposed by workspace owners. In general, messages posted in public channels are visible to anybody within the workspace. The messages you send in private groups are only visible to other group members, and direct messages are only visible to the people immediately involved. Workspace admins are exempted from these rules and can gain full visibility into all messages sent within their Slack environment. Free Slack accounts require the admins to contact Slack to retrieve copies of sent messages. Slack Enterprise Grid accounts can use advanced controls or third-party integrations to manage Slack messages.

Similar rules and restrictions exist for other workplace collaboration tools, such as Teams, Zoom, and Webex. In general, employers only search Slack and other collaboration messages to protect the company from unauthorized information sharing or to address complaints of bullying and harassment in the workplace. It is always a good practice to use discretion and common sense when communicating in any workplace communication tool, including Slack.

Aware supports forensic search and investigations into collaboration data for a wide range of use cases. Some of the top reasons our customers use Aware to search conversation data include:

• Compliance violations
• Acceptable Use Policy violations
• Intellectual property protection
• Data loss
• HR investigations
• Early case assessment (ECA)

Aware ingests collaboration data from tools like Slack, Teams, and Zoom in real time into its intelligent data fabric. There, messages are normalized, analyzed, and infused with AI insights that reveal the full context while ensuring no details are lost. Legacy data management systems lack this functionality because, unlike Aware, they weren’t built for the nuances of collaboration. Normalizing data from multiple sources enables Aware to conduct automated federated search and investigations with forensic precision from all sources simultaneously and deliver the insights you need without you having to ask.

Business leaders often mistakenly believe there is no sensitive data contained within their collaboration datasets. However, when organizations provide tools for their employees to use, the employees often operate under the belief that those tools are a safe repository for any business-related data. A quick search of conversations in collaboration often reveals a significant amount of sensitive information. This can include:

• Payment card industry (PCI) details such as card numbers, expiration dates, and bank account details
• Protected health information (PHI) like test results, diagnoses, and appointment dates
• Personally identifying information (PII) such as full names, dates of birth, and addresses
• Intellectual property, such as industry research, business plans, and financial reports
• Harassment and toxicity, that can open the business up to discrimination claims and HR lawsuits

Every year, just 5000 employees will generate 30 million collaboration messages. It only takes one message to cost the company millions in fines, penalties, and reputational damage.

Collaboration datasets are notoriously difficult to search effectively. Because they contain so many layers of permissions, follow a non-linear structure, and enable non-standard letters and attachments, searching them can be a slow and complicated process. Aware’s forensic research and investigation capabilities make it easier to surface complete, contextual results from collaboration tools. This ensures that unauthorized messages are quickly surfaced and remediated, mitigating risks and improving compliance posture within collaboration datasets.

Aware was purpose-built to make sense of collaboration data and bring the context of human voices at scale from the breakroom to the boardroom. Aware ingests messages in real time from across the entire enterprise, capturing a complete record of all interactions, including revisions and deletions. Aware supports all major collaboration tools, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Webex by Cisco, Zoom Team Chat, Google Drive, Workplace from Meta and more. Aware fulfills a wide range of use cases, including: data loss prevention (DLP), insider risk detection, compliance adherence, eDiscovery, employee experience, toxic hot spot detection, information governance, business feedback loops and key initiative tracking.