In March-April Exterro customers will be able to collect common mobile device content over wireless corporate networks without phone apps or agents. This new offering leverages the Exterro platform, FTK Suite(acquired 2020) and an agent installed on legal team workstation. The custodian grants one-time trust permission for collection access and the incremental collections are made without disrupting users while they are connected to the wireless/wired network.
Beyond the press release, Exterro PM gracious gave us a technical briefing and demo (screenshots below) of the workflow. Here are my differentiators and comments:
- The ability to remotely preview the installed apps on remote custodial phones is huge advantage for targeted messaging collections. Exterro currently supports most chat apps including Discord, Google Duo/Meet, Instagram, IOS Messages, Reddit, TikTok, Twitter, Uber and WhatsApp.
- For enterprise deployments I am betting that the one-time trust grant can be included in registration of the device on the corporate network. I am betting that overseas custodians with different local networks will require renewing the trust connection. Bandwidth is always an issue, so full device collections may benefit from a wired connection.
- So far competitive solutions have required the target phone to be physically connected to a collection laptop/PC OR forced the custodian to verify their iOS backup configuration and surrender their Apple credentials.
- Exterro iOS collections still require extracting a ‘backup’, but reduce the custodial friction.
- Mobile messaging content can be ingested directly into Exterro platform, to a forensic container (DB1) or to RSMF format if being processed into another platform.
- As with other collection solutions, heavily encrypted apps such as Signal or Telegraph require acquisition of a full image for extraction.
- Pricing is based on the number of devices and amount of data under management with tiers ranging from 50 to unlimited devices.
I am looking forward to having another option in RFPs for remote mobile device collection. Having it tied to a full eDiscovery platform is an advantage to existing Exterro customers. Corporations that have invested in competitive platforms will have evaluate the ROI and workflow practicality. I can see how this could be used with departing employees for targeted collections of work related chat app content. If you think your custodians are not using WhatApp, text and other chat apps with coworkers, contractors, and business partners you have not been collecting their phones.
Here is Exterro’s version of top benefits:
● No Agent Installation
Eliminates the need for installing potentially intrusive agents on mobile devices.
● Seamless Operation
Enables continuous and remote data collection over Wi-Fi or wired connections with minimal user intervention.
● Saves Money
Eliminate device shipping costs, IT personnel travel expenses, and custodian downtime by collecting remotely.
● Reduces IT Overhead
Allows Exterro digital forensics and e-discovery solutions to communicate with and collect data from all data sources—computers, mobile devices, and cloud data sources–in a single solution.
● Targeted Data Preview and Collection
Conduct complete remote mobile device collections or preview and target selective collections with industry-leading data source filtering.
● Compatible with Enterprise IT
Available on-premises or as a cloud-based SaaS solution to integrate seamlessly with enterprise IT infrastructure and workflows.
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Greg Buckles wants your feedback, questions or project inquiries at Greg@eDJGroupInc.com. Book a free 15 minute ‘Good Karma’ call if he has availability. He solves problems and creates eDiscovery solutions for enterprise and law firm clients.
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