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Guidance Software, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
Nasdaq: GUID
IndustryDigital Forensics, E-Discovery
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
HeadquartersPasadena, California
Area served
Worldwide
Products
List
  • EnCase Analytics
    EnCase Enterprise
    EnCase eDiscovery
    EnCase Cybersecurity
    EnCase Forensic
    EnCase Portable
    Tableau Forensic
RevenueUS $91.9 million (2010)
Number of employees
371
ParentOpenText
Websitewww.guidancesoftware.com

Guidance Software, Inc. was a publicly traded company founded in 1997 by Shawn McCreight. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, the company developed and provided software solutions for digital investigations primarily in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia/Pacific Rim.[1] Guidance Software had offices in Brazil, Chicago, Houston, New York City, San Francisco, Singapore, United Kingdom and Washington, D.C., and employed approximately 371 employees.[2] On September 14, 2017, the company was acquired by OpenText.[3]

Best known for its EnCase digital investigations software, Guidance Software's product line was organized around four markets: digital forensics, endpoint security analytics, cyber security incident response, and e-discovery.[4] The company served law-enforcement and government agencies, as well as corporations in various industries, such as financial and insurance services, technology, defense contracting, telecom, pharmaceutical, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail.[5] The company operated through four business segments: products, professional services, training and maintenance, and operates two certification programs for the EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE)[6] and EnCase Certified eDiscovery Practitioner (EnCEP)[7] designations. In May 2010, the company completed the acquisition of Tableau, LLC.[8] In February 2012, Guidance Software acquired CaseCentral.[9]

Notable case mentions

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Guidance Software has been noted in a number of high-profile use cases. In 2002, Guidance Software's EnCase 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.[10]

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.[11]

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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.”[15]

Key Management

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John Colbert - CEO Victor Limongelli- CEO Shawn McCreight - CTO and Founder Frank Sansone - CFO Barry Plaga - CFO Sandy Gyenes - CHRO Mark Harrington - General Counsel

References

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  1. ^ Yahoo!, retrieved 03 June 2011
  2. ^ Guidance Software Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 03 June 2011
  3. ^ OpenText, retrieved 14 September 2017
  4. ^ LinkedIn, retrieved 03 June 2011
  5. ^ Bloomberg Businessweek, retrieved 03 June 2011
  6. ^ Google Books, retrieved 10 September 2012
  7. ^ GoCertify Archived 2012-08-17 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 10 September 2012
  8. ^ Reuters[dead link], retrieved 03 June 2011
  9. ^ Reuters, retrieved 10 October 2012
  10. ^ Government Technology, retrieved 03 June 2011
  11. ^ Los Angeles Business Journal Archived 2008-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 03 June 2011
  12. ^ TIME, retrieved 03 June 2011
  13. ^ CBS News, retrieved 03 June 2011
  14. ^ WFTV 9 Archived 2011-07-12 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 30 June 2011
  15. ^ WFTV 9 Archived 2011-07-12 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 30 June 2011
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