Guidance Software
Encyclopedia
Guidance Software, Inc. is a public company (NASDAQ
: GUID) founded in 1997. Headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., the company develops and provides software solutions for digital investigations primarily in the United States
, Europe
, the Middle East
, Africa
, and the Asia/Pacific Rim. Guidance Software has offices in Brazil
, Chicago
, Houston, New York
, San Francisco, Singapore
, United Kingdom
and Washington, D.C. and employs approximately 371 employees.
Best known for its EnCase
computer forensic software, Guidance Software’s product line is organized around three markets: digital forensics
, cyber security incident response, and e-discovery. The company serves government agencies and corporations in various industries, such as financial and insurance services, technology, defense contracting, telecom, pharmaceutical, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. The company operates through four business segments: products, professional services, training and maintenance. In May 2010, the company completed the acquisition of Tableau, LLC.
was used in the murder trial of David Westerfield
to examine his computers and disks to connect him to child pornography. That same year, EnCase was used by French police to uncover emails from now-convicted shoe bomber Richard Colvin Reid.
In 2004, EnCase
software was used in the trial of now convicted Scott Peterson
for the murder of his wife, Laci Peterson
. Computer forensic experts used EnCase
to examine Peterson’s five computer hard drives, which provided valuable evidence that he had shopped online for a boat, studied water currents, bought a gift for his mistress in the weeks leading up to his wife’s death and showed interest in a computer map that included Brooks Island, where his wife was later found.
In 2005, American serial killer Dennis Lynn Rader (also known as the BTK killer) sent a floppy disk to FOX affiliate KSAS-TV
in Wichita, Kansas
. Using EnCase
, police were able to find metadata
embedded in a deleted Microsoft Word
document that was, unbeknownst to Rader, on the disk. The metadata contained "Christ Lutheran Church", and the document was marked as last modified by "Dennis". A search of the church website turned up Dennis Rader as president of the congregation council. Police began surveillance of Rader.
In 2011, following Sony
Online Entertainment’s multiple security breaches, Sony said it would be working with Data Forté, Guidance Software and Protiviti
to resolve its PlayStation
breach. And in May 2011, after the killing of Osama bin Laden
, it was reported that an assault team of Navy SEALs removed computers, hard drives, USB sticks and DVDs from bin Laden’s compound for forensic analysis. Based on a job description supporting the task, Guidance Software's EnCase
is believed to be the tool selected for analysis of the electronic gear. Later that year, Guidance Software’s EnCase was noted as a forensic software tool used in the trial of Casey Anthony, following the death of her daughter Caylee Anthony. Investigators used EnCase to search digital cameras and computers. Using the software, Detective Sandra Osborne of Orange County Sheriff's Department, found correctly and incorrectly spelled searches for the word “chloroform.”
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
: GUID) founded in 1997. Headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., the company develops and provides software solutions for digital investigations primarily in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and the Asia/Pacific Rim. Guidance Software has offices in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Houston, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, San Francisco, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Washington, D.C. and employs approximately 371 employees.
Best known for its EnCase
EnCase
EnCase is a computer forensics product produced by Guidance Software used to analyze digital media . The software is available to law enforcement agencies and corporations.EnCase includes tools for data acquisition, file recovery, indexing/search and file parsing...
computer forensic software, Guidance Software’s product line is organized around three markets: digital forensics
Digital forensics
Digital forensics is a branch of forensic science encompassing the recovery and investigation of material found in digital devices, often in relation to computer crime...
, cyber security incident response, and e-discovery. The company serves government agencies and corporations in various industries, such as financial and insurance services, technology, defense contracting, telecom, pharmaceutical, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. The company operates through four business segments: products, professional services, training and maintenance. In May 2010, the company completed the acquisition of Tableau, LLC.
Notable Case Mentions
Guidance Software has been noted in a number of high profile use cases. In 2002, Guidance Software’s EnCaseEnCase
EnCase is a computer forensics product produced by Guidance Software used to analyze digital media . The software is available to law enforcement agencies and corporations.EnCase includes tools for data acquisition, file recovery, indexing/search and file parsing...
was used in the murder trial of David Westerfield
David Westerfield
David Alan Westerfield , of San Diego, California was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder and kidnapping of seven-year-old Danielle Van Dam in 2002. He was a successful, self-employed engineer who owned a luxury motor home and lived two houses away from Van Dam...
to examine his computers and disks to connect him to child pornography. That same year, EnCase was used by French police to uncover emails from now-convicted shoe bomber Richard Colvin Reid.
In 2004, EnCase
EnCase
EnCase is a computer forensics product produced by Guidance Software used to analyze digital media . The software is available to law enforcement agencies and corporations.EnCase includes tools for data acquisition, file recovery, indexing/search and file parsing...
software was used in the trial of now convicted Scott Peterson
Scott Peterson
Scott Lee Peterson , an American, was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn child in Modesto, California, in 2002. Peterson's arrest and subsequent trial dominated the American news media until 2005, when he was sentenced to death by lethal injection...
for the murder of his wife, Laci Peterson
Laci Peterson
Laci Denise Peterson was an American woman who was the subject of a highly discussed murder case after she went missing while seven and a half months pregnant with her first child. Peterson was reportedly last seen alive on December 24, 2002...
. Computer forensic experts used EnCase
EnCase
EnCase is a computer forensics product produced by Guidance Software used to analyze digital media . The software is available to law enforcement agencies and corporations.EnCase includes tools for data acquisition, file recovery, indexing/search and file parsing...
to examine Peterson’s five computer hard drives, which provided valuable evidence that he had shopped online for a boat, studied water currents, bought a gift for his mistress in the weeks leading up to his wife’s death and showed interest in a computer map that included Brooks Island, where his wife was later found.
In 2005, American serial killer Dennis Lynn Rader (also known as the BTK killer) sent a floppy disk to FOX affiliate KSAS-TV
KSAS-TV
KSAS-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Wichita, Kansas. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 26 from a transmitter in Colwich. The station can also be seen on Cox channel 4 and in high definition on digital channel 2004...
in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
. Using EnCase
EnCase
EnCase is a computer forensics product produced by Guidance Software used to analyze digital media . The software is available to law enforcement agencies and corporations.EnCase includes tools for data acquisition, file recovery, indexing/search and file parsing...
, police were able to find metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
embedded in a deleted Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
document that was, unbeknownst to Rader, on the disk. The metadata contained "Christ Lutheran Church", and the document was marked as last modified by "Dennis". A search of the church website turned up Dennis Rader as president of the congregation council. Police began surveillance of Rader.
In 2011, following Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Online Entertainment’s multiple security breaches, Sony said it would be working with Data Forté, Guidance Software and Protiviti
Protiviti
Protiviti is a global consulting and internal audit firm specializing in risk and advisory services. Protiviti’s customers are in the areas of finance, operations, technology, litigation, and governance, risk and compliance. Protiviti has offices in 61 major markets, with 33 in the United States...
to resolve its PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
breach. And in May 2011, after the killing of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, it was reported that an assault team of Navy SEALs removed computers, hard drives, USB sticks and DVDs from bin Laden’s compound for forensic analysis. Based on a job description supporting the task, Guidance Software's EnCase
EnCase
EnCase is a computer forensics product produced by Guidance Software used to analyze digital media . The software is available to law enforcement agencies and corporations.EnCase includes tools for data acquisition, file recovery, indexing/search and file parsing...
is believed to be the tool selected for analysis of the electronic gear. Later that year, Guidance Software’s EnCase was noted as a forensic software tool used in the trial of Casey Anthony, following the death of her daughter Caylee Anthony. Investigators used EnCase to search digital cameras and computers. Using the software, Detective Sandra Osborne of Orange County Sheriff's Department, found correctly and incorrectly spelled searches for the word “chloroform.”
Competition
- AccessData
- ADFADF-Computing and related technology:* Advanced Format, a hard disk technology where sectors are over the 512 bytes limit* Amiga Disk File* Amsterdam Density Functional, a computer program for performing density functional theory electronic structure calculations...
- AutonomyAutonomyAutonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
- F-Response
- Mandiant
- Paraben
- SymantecSymantecSymantec Corporation is the largest maker of security software for computers. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock market index.-History:...
, through its acquisition of Clearwell Systems - Technology Pathways
- X-Ways