Instructions Choose one of the scenarios below A or B to complete the assignment. Scenario A You are the business

Instructions
Choose one of the scenarios below (A or B) to complete the assignment.
Scenario A
You are the business owner of a local small engine repair shop, and you have been thinking about implementing a knowledge management system for your customer service technicians. You are thinking about this because there are times when some of your technicians know how to fix certain engine problems and others do not. Providing a central knowledge repository could help share troubleshooting and repair knowledge among your technicians.
Scenario B
You are the business owner of a local cleaning service, and you have been thinking about implementing a knowledge management system for your cleaning technicians, especially for those who troubleshoot and solve cleaning problems, such as removing certain carpet and water stains, addressing mold, and selecting the proper tools and products to use for other types of cleaning issues. You are thinking about this because there are times when some of your cleaning technicians know how to properly clean carpets and others do not. Providing a central knowledge repository could help share cleaning knowledge among your cleaning technicians.
After you chose your scenario (A or B), compose a paper that addresses the elements listed below.
Explain the role of knowledge management systems.
Explain what is meant by expert systems.
Explain what is meant by content management systems.
Discuss how the business in the selected scenario could benefit from an expert system and a content management system, and provide two examples for each type of system.
Discuss how the business in the selected scenario could benefit from business intelligence, and provide two examples of these benefits.
Discuss how the business in the selected scenario can use social media to not only obtain information and knowledge but to share it as well, and provide two examples of how the business might use social media information systems.
Your paper must be at least two pages in length (not counting the title and reference pages), and you must also use at least two scholarly sources, one of which must come from the CSU Online Library. Any information from a source must be cited and referenced in APA format, and your paper must be formatted in accordance to APA guidelines.













Here is one of the readings to use for the unit V assignment.
I sent study guide
too…………………………
















Report Information from ProQuest
October 28 2020 00:36COLUMBIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Table of contents
1. The Importance of Metadata in Digital Evidence for Legal PractitionersBibliography
Document 1 of 1
The Importance of Metadata in Digital Evidence for Legal Practitioners
Author: Hannon, Michael J11 Associate Director for Access Services & Digital Initiatives at the University of Minnesota Law Library and a member of The Missouri Bar
Publication info: Computer and Internet Lawyer ; Frederick
Vol.
34,
Iss.
10,
(Oct 2017): 1-19.
ProQuest document link
Abstract:
According to Hobbs, the government was obligated to produce the metadata from the thumb drive upon which his statement to a Philadelphia police detective was stored, both because the metadata was Brady material and because Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16 requires the metadatas production. Comment 6 to Rule 2.9 emphasizes, The prohibition against a judge investigating the facts in a matter extends to information available in all mediums, including electronic. […]when the court is presented with electronically created or stored information, the judge must know whether the submitted evidence includes only that information visible on the surface of the document, or whether metadata is included. […]Plaintiffs disagree, arguing both that backup tapes are equally discoverable and that this datas inaccessibility is due to Defendants intentional[ ] alter[ing] the format of its data so as to make it such relevant discovery inaccessible. Defendant does not offer the affidavit to prove the contents of the original photographs, but to explain the use of the photographs in the investigation. […]the Court finds that the affidavit does not violate the best evidence rule.); Michael Bandler, MB & Co. Ltd., dba Michael Bandler and Company, Plaintiffs-Counter Defendants-Counter Claimants-Appellants-Cross-Appellees, v. BPCM NYC, Ltd., BPCM Worldwide, Ltd., BPCM LA, Ltd., Blue Stripe, Ltd., Carrie Ellen Phillips, Vanessa Von Bismarck, Ali Froley, Laura Woodward, Defendants-Counter ClaimantsCounter Defendants- Appelle es-Cross- Appellants., 2015 WL 4064938, 15-16 (2nd Cir. 2015) (Appellate Brief) (Bandler testified that he drafted the purported subsequent contracts on his home computer.
Full text:
Editors Note: This article is part of a series of articles by Mr. Hannon focusing on metadata.
The vast increase in the creation, storage, and communication of digital information is impacting all aspects of human activity. The exponential growth of digital information means digital evidence is now prevalent in both the criminal1 and civil justice systems.2 The legal field is increasingly reliant on digital systems. The vast increase in digital evidence presents numerous challenges and opportunities to legal practitioners. Digital evidence often contains a hidden component in the form of metadata that legal practitioners must have knowledge about.3 Every digital file has numerous types of metadata.4 Every communication sent over digital networks, such as email and social media messages, contains metadata.5 Metadata from communications such as social media can be recovered from the smartphones and computers of participants in an online conversation.6
The increasing importance of digital evidence and metadata requires legal practitioners to acquire knowledge about this form of evidence. Digital evidence also is known as electronically stored information (ESI), a phrase added to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 2006 to explicitly recognize that ESI is discoverable. Metadata often is an important form of ESI.7 This article uses the terms digital evidence and ESI interchangeably.
This series of articles explores the categories of metadata and their purposes, and some of the important issues involving metadata that arise when digital evidence is used in criminal and civil practice. Issues beyond the scope of this series include the collection of bulk metadata by the National Security Agency (NSA), recovery of costs for metadata in e-discovery, and the ethical issues involved when confidential information is inadvertently transmitted in metadata outside of civil discovery.
Background and Importance of Metadata to Practitioners
The Oxford dictionary defines metadata as data that describes and gives information about other data.8 According to Blacks Law Dictionary, metadata is [s]econdary data that organize, manage, and facilitate the use and understanding of primary data.9 The term metadata is actually plural, as is the term data, but this series of articles often uses the term metadata as a singular as most sources do.10Various courts and secondary legal sources have described or defined metadata. One court defined metadata as:
[A] set of data that describes and gives information about other data or information about a particular data set which describes how, when and by whom it was collected, created, accessed, or modified and how it is formatted (including data demographics such as size, location, storage requirements and media information). It includes all of the contextual, processing, and use information needed to identify and certify the scope, authenticity, and integrity of active or archival electronic information or records. Some examples of metadata for electronic documents include: a files name, a files location (e.g., directory structure or pathname), file format or file type, file size, file dates (e.g., creation date, date of last data modification, date of last data access, and date of last metadata modification), and file permissions (e.g., who can read the data, who can write to it, who can run it). Some metadata, such as file dates and sizes, can easily be seen by users; other metadata can be hidden or embedded and unavailable to computer users who are not technically adept.11
Basically, metadata is just about any information about a digital file besides the files actual content.12 The distinction between the content of a digital file or electronic communication and its associated metadata is made in several legal areas.13 For example, the Stored Communications Act (SCA), the federal law providing statutory privacy for account holders of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), makes a clear distinction between the contents of stored communications such as email messages and non-content metadata.14 The SCA also applies to cellular phone networks.15 The distinction between the contents of a file or a communication and associated metadata can be legally significant.16 The contents of an email message are easy to understand-it is the actual message that the sender created using a computer or phone. The subject line also is content,17 although a few sources classify the subject line as a form of metadata.18 Any information about an email message besides its actual content could be considered metadata.19 There can be hundreds of metadata fields associated with an email message.20 Metadata indicates which email messages have been opened.21 Easily understood email metadata include the email addresses of the sender and receiver and the dates and times the message was sent and received.22
Email metadata such as routing and addressing information is needed to ensure the message is transmitted across the Internet. The email servers that route messages to their intended destinations and store email messages for each email account generate metadata about each message. Some of this routing metadata, such as the sender and recipient email addresses, is visible. Most email metadata is hidden unless some steps are taken to reveal it. An important type of hidden metadata is the message headers.23 Email headers contain information about the email servers that handled a particular message during transit from sender to receiver, the message ID (a unique number identifying that particular email message) stamped by the first email server to handle the message, Internet protocol (IP) addresses used to route the message, and time stamps.24 Each email message ID is unique.25 The IP address is an important part of the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) for addressing and routing Internet communications. Thus, IP addresses are an important part of email headers,26 although email headers and what they contain can vary depending on the email provider. For example, Gmail does not include the senders IP address in outgoing messages.27 Log files of the email servers that handled the message also will contain various metadata records. Metadata is a part of the underlying infrastructure of Internet communications and a record of an email messages journey from sender to receiver.
Analogies can be made to the US Postal system-a mailing address on an envelope (recipient name, street address, city, state, and zip code) is a form of metadata. This addressing metadata information is required to ensure proper delivery, but is not part of the actual content of the letter. This metadata is vital to ensuring the letter reaches its intended destination. The addressing information on a paper envelope serves the same purpose as the addressing metadata and message headers in an email message. An email message without metadata cannot be sent to the intended recipient. The addressing and routing metadata is required so email servers and Internet routers can properly transmit and route each email message. Email metadata can be legally significant because it is a record of the route the email took from sender to receiver.28 Consideration should be given to email metadata in civil discovery.29 Such evidence can be important in criminal investigations. During the investigation of the rape and murder of 15-year-old Ashley Parks, a friend of the girls mother sent detectives copies of emails he received from the victim about a month before her murder. A detective contacted Yahoo, which assisted the detective to obtain:
the IP address of the computer from which Parks accessed her Yahoo account and sent the emails to Donaldson. Once he knew the IP address of the computer Parks used, Detective Hamilton went on-line and learned that the IP address belonged to a Comcast subscriber. Detective Hamilton faxed a search warrant to Comcast, who identified Kaufman as the account holder for that IP address. Comcast also provided Kaufmans home address and email address. Using this information, police obtained a search warrant authorizing them to seize Kaufmans computer and related equipment.30
In the context of authenticating email evidence, a source recommends:
At a minimum, defense counsel should insist on production of e-mail messages in native format with metadata intact, particularly message headers. Metadata can sometimes be used to identify the Internet Protocol (IP) address and therefore the location from which a particular e-mail message was sent. Furthermore, message headers are integral in verifying the authenticity of an e-mail message. Message routing information and cryptographic signatures often embedded in message headers can be used in the authentication process. In addition, webmail providers like Google,Yahoo, and Microsoft retain login records that reveal the IP address that a consumer used to log in to his or her e-mail. In some cases, the metadata will reveal whether the e-mail account was accessed from a mobile device or other computer equipment. Metadata is also relevant to authentication in that it provides important context for e-mail messages. For example, the metadata indicates whether and when an e-mail message was opened, whether it was replied to or forwarded, whether the message was flagged for further action, the names of identified recipients and those who received blind copies, the presence of attachments, and the name of the folder in which the e-mail appeared. The metadata associated with the e-mail attachment includes additional data concerning the creator of the attachment, the computer on which it was created, the last written and last accessed dates, and history concerning modifi cations made to the file.31
Why Metadata Is Important to Legal Practitioners
The growing importance of ESI in civil litigation requires knowledge and skills that were not needed in a world of paper.32 Gaining knowledge about metadata is important because metadata is a fundamental component of digital evidence. Metadata is created automatically as part of the processes in which computers, phones, and other digital devices generate, store, and communicate digital information. Metadata is not merely the byproduct of the creation and storage of digital files; it actually is a potential form of evidence:
If evidence is anything that tends to prove or refute an assertion as fact, then clearly metadata is evidence. Metadata sheds light on the origins, context, authenticity, reliability and distribution of electronic evidence, as well as provides clues to human behavior. Its the electronic equivalent of DNA, ballistics and fi ngerprint evidence, with a comparable power to exonerate and incriminate.33
The fundamental importance of metadata to electronic files was illustrated in a decision on whether metadata is subject to disclosure under public records laws:
The metadata in an electronic document is part of the underlying document; it does not stand on its own. When a public officer uses a computer to make a public record, the metadata forms part of the document as much as the words on the page. Arizonas public records law requires that the requestor be allowed to review a copy of the real record. It would be illogical, and contrary to the policy of openness underlying the public records laws, to conclude that public entities can withhold information embedded in an electronic document, such as the date of creation, while they would be required to produce the same information if it were written manually on a paper public record. We accordingly hold that when a public entity maintains a public record in an electronic format, the electronic version of the record, including any embedded metadata, is subject to disclosure under our public records law.34
Metadata can be used in some cases to impute knowledge.35 Metadata evidence can exist even if associated files have been deleted.36 It also can corroborate other evidence.37 More and more criminal defendants are raising defenses and appeals based in part on metadata evidence.38 Defendants may argue ineffective assistance of counsel based on how defense counsel handled metadata evidence.39 A defendant was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography based in part on metadata evidence that showed the dates and times that digital photos of the victim were taken. On appeal he argued that:
the government did not timely provide him with the date-and-time-related content of the metadata. He contends that he requested this information, but it was not revealed until the eve of trial. But it was incumbent on Mr. Gutierrez to take affirmative steps to gather further information if he needed it to prepare his defense … . Furthermore, it is undisputed that the defense had access to the metadata from the beginning of the prosecution, albeit only at the FBI office. Notwithstanding this access, Mr. Gutierrez argues that the FBI refused to provide any analysis of the metadata. But he has cited no authority requiring the government to interpret the metadata for him.40
Defendants facing charges based on digital evidence sometimes request discovery of metadata. A defendant might base a defense on the lack of metadata.41 Defense attorneys will need to have knowledge about various types of metadata and whether such evidence can be exculpatory and considered discoverable under Brady.42 A defense attorney may have to justify the need for metadata if the government objects:
Hobbs argues that the District Court erred in refusing to order disclosure of the metadata associated with the electronic transcription of a statement he gave to the police while in custody. According to Hobbs, the government was obligated to produce the metadata from the thumb drive upon which his statement to a Philadelphia police detective was stored, both because the metadata was Brady material and because Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16 requires the metadatas production. But Hobbs has failed to show that he is entitled to the information. He requested the metadata because he thought it could lead to impeachment information, even though he admitted he had no idea what that impeachment information might be, and despite his having a copy of the statement, which he did not allege to be inauthentic or inaccurate. In other words, Hobbs speculates that there is some unknown possibility that the metadata could potentially be helpful in some unknown way. That is far from sufficient to establish a violation of either Brady or Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16.43
Metadata creates numerous challenges for legal practitioners because some of the concepts are technically complex, can be confusing, and require applying existing legal reasoning to this type of evidence that is relatively new to some practitioners.44 Metadata appears to be a consistent source of confusion in legal practice.45 Metadata can be perplexing because it is largely hidden from view and many people are not aware of its existence.46 ESI metadata is one of the reasons that modern law practice is different from practicing in the print era.47 Any typewritten or handwritten words on a paper document are clearly visible on the face of the document.48 In contrast, most metadata in ESI is hidden from casual view:
Some metadata included in a Word document, for example, consists of information like how many words are in the document or when the document was prepared. In many instances, that information will have very little significance to anyone. But some metadata may not be so benign. The worst culprit is the track changes feature that, when enabled, records who, when, and what changes were made to a document; it also tracks multiple undos, [sic] which allows the recipient to repeatedly undo changes to a document and see the edits made over time. Imagine a draft settlement agreement that originally proposed offering $100,000 to settle the case, but was revised to reflect a $50,000 initial offer. The recipient may be able to undo the changes or track them to see that the original offer was intended to be much higher. This can obviously have real-world impact.49
Some litigants in civil discovery misunderstand metadata or are unaware of its potential importance or even its existence.50 Juries might find metadata evidence confusing.51 The invisible nature of most metadata can lead to problems.52 Metadata evidence can be overlooked, which can have legal implications.53
Judges increasingly are grappling with complex digital evidence issues including those involving metadata.54 One court noted that digital evidence raises a great number of potential questions and it wanted to alert the bench and bar of concern as the nature of adjudicative evidence shifts from one-dimensional paper to multi-dimensional electronic documents.55 For example, when some form of electronic information is introduced- say an electronic document-questions may arise whether they contain metadata. If so, is metadata being admitted along with the information on the face of the document? Knowing the answer will be important to lawyers, who must provide competent representation to a client.56 The court raised an interesting observation about digital evidence:
Judges also will increasingly be called on to know and understand the depth of evidence used in judicial proceedings … . The present case demonstrates the importance of monitoring electronic evidence in jury trials, where a verdict could be reversed if non-admitted evidence reaches the jury room. Knowing and understanding the quantum of evidence before the court also will be important to judges considering dispositive motions supported by electronic documents or who are presiding over a bench trial where proof is offered through electronically stored information. Judges are prohibited from conducting independent investigations. N.D. Code Jud. Conduct Rule 2.9(C) (Except as otherwise provided by law, a judge shall not investigate facts in a matter independently, and shall consider only the evidence presented and any facts that may properly be judicially noticed.). Comment 6 to Rule 2.9 emphasizes, The prohibition against a judge investigating the facts in a matter extends to information available in all mediums, including electronic. Therefore, when the court is presented with electronically created or stored information, the judge must know whether the submitted evidence includes only that information visible on the surface of the document, or whether metadata is included. The distinction is critical, both on an ethical and adjudicative basis.57
Other legal practitioners have raised the unresolved issue of how metadata should be viewed in the context of the best evidence (or original writing) rule.58 Courts have applied the best evidence rule to various types of digital evidence.59 But court rulings on ESI and the best evidence rule have not focused on the underlying metadata:
To date, the courts that have considered the original writing rule as it applies to the admissibility of ESI/digital evidence have tended to view the original as the top-level view of what the record normally shows to people who view it on a screen and also upon printing out the record onto paper. Disputes about metadata have tended to focus on its discoverability, or its utility in authenticating a digital document. Whether they will continue to do so, or begin to expand their view of whether the original is to include the hidden or unseen digital components of a computer-generated or stored document remains to be seen. However, it may be predicted that for the foreseeable future they will continue to treat the original as the portion that is viewed when the digital document is opened or printed from a computer because that is the portion that is readable by sight as stated in Rule 1001(3), and because that is the component of the digital document that tends to be the version that is used or disseminated by its author, and hence most likely to be the legally operative version that figures into a future legal dispute.60
How the best evidence rule applies to metadata also has been raised in trials.61
Despite the potential complexities, metadata also presents opportunities for legal practitioners because it can provide compelling evidence of when a particular item of digital evidence was created, modified, or deleted, and perhaps who was at the keyboard when such activity took place. It can be used to record computer activity for numerous purposes.62
Sometimes metadata is as important as or even more important than an actual item of ESI.63 Metadata can be critical if there are questions about the authenticity of the ESI.64 Metadata can be used to establish when a document was created, deleted, or modified, or when a particular email or text message was sent or received.65 Without metadata, some ESI is not much more than electronically stored versions of paper documents such as those that lawyers, judges, and litigants used before computers replaced typewriters.66 It is metadata that, unlocks the truth behind what appears on the surface of the evidence.67 Metadata is required for computer systems to generate and store digital information.68
Metadata exists because it performs some useful function. Understanding the purpose and utility of metadata can help illustrate how and why it is created and facilitate understanding of the different types or categories. As one source states the primary function of metadata is utilitarian: It is designed to help users revise, organize, and access electronically created files.69 Some types of metadata are required by the file systems on computers, phones, and other digital devices to organize and keep track of everything stored on the system. This includes files, folders, software programs, and a wide variety of other information such as user profiles, accounts, settings, preferences, and more.
There are innumerable legal situations in civil and criminal practice that will involve digital evidence.70 The importance of metadata varies depending on what is at issue.71 Sometimes metadata is not as important as one party asserts,72 or a party may try to downplay the significance of metadata.73 Metadata can be irrelevant to a civil or criminal case or it can be crucial:
Metadata may be totally innocuous, such as formatting instructions and margin determinations, but sometimes metadata provides crucial evidence that is not available in a paper document … . Metadata may reveal who worked on a document, the name of the organization that created or worked on it, information about prior versions of the document, recent revisions, and comments inserted in the document during drafting or editing … . The hidden text may reflect editorial comments, strategy considerations, legal issues raised by the client or the lawyer, or legal advice provided by the lawyer. Metadata may provide information that a paper document would not provide or information that differs from a paper document. Metadata may also reveal that a document has been changed or backdated. A litigation attorney today who produces electronic documents but does not understand metadata is potentially committing malpractice.74
The legal significance of electronic communication metadata can surpass the importance of the underlying message in some situations.75 Communication metadata usually is afforded less privacy protection than the underlying messages under privacy statutes.76 The difference between content and non-content metadata can be fundamentally important under the Fourth Amendment.77
Metadata-Wherever Digital Evidence Is Found
There are hundreds of ways to show how digital technologies have affected legal practice. Metadata is potentially important in any legal issue where digital evidence is relevant because metadata is present in or associated with every digital file.78 A few examples show the wide variety of legal issues that potentially involve metadata. Preservation of metadata is explicitly mentioned in a Texas statute governing temporary restraining orders after a suit for dissolution of a marriage has been filed. Pursuant to the statute, a court may grant a temporary restraining order to the adverse party for the preservation of property including prohibiting one or both parties from:
Among other things, modifying, changing, or altering the native format or metadata of any electronic data or electronically stored information relevant to the subject matter of the suit for dissolution of marriage, regardless of whether the information is stored on a hard drive, in a removable storage device, in cloud storage, or in another electronic storage medium.79
A lawyer representing a spouse involved in this type of dispute in Texas would need to have some knowledge about metadata to properly advise his or her client.
Metadata was important in a whistleblower retaliation trial in which a companys former general counsel claimed he was fi red because he investigated and reported a potential violation of a foreign bribery law.80 The company claimed that he was fired for performance. There was no documentation of poor performance; furthermore, his 2012 performance review mostly was positive. But during discovery the defendants produced a separate review dated April 2013 that the plaintiff never received. The plaintiffs attorneys dug through the metadata of this document:
According to the metadata- … that can determine a documents file type, its creation date and who accessed it-the worker review dated April 2013 actually was created in July 2013, a full month after Wadler was fired. The jury focused on the metadata in one of its two questions to the court. Less than three hours after deliberations began, the jury had its verdict.81
The plaintiff was awarded $2.9 million in back pay and stock compensation and $5 million in punitive damages. The award will increase to $10.8 million because the Dodd-Frank Act authorizes the doubling of back pay for whistleblower retaliation.82
Metadata can bolster a claim that activities on a computer or phone took place at a certain time.83 Many employers are becoming aware that safeguarding company data is important and are concerned when an employee departs to work for a competitor. Metadata evidence can help establish whether a departing employee accessed proprietary company data just prior to leaving.84
Metadata can be critical for establishing when communications such as email, text messages, or social media messages were sent.85 Evidence of metadata manipulation can show that a party engaged in deception by intentionally changing metadata. Metadata undermined a claim by a music composer who brought a copyright infringement action against rap artists and record companies over a copyrighted instrumental rhythm line (beat). During discovery, the plaintiff produced a computer on which he: