Timothy Allen Is a Retired U.S. Secret Service Special Agent with Extensive Digital Forensics Experience
Digital Forensics Witness – Timothy E. Allen | Former Special Agent (U.S. Secret Service & DOJ-OIG)
Digital forensics is a complex, nuanced, and constantly evolving specialty. It is hard to keep pace, and falling behind can have significant consequences in business and litigation. From pinpointing the source of network intrusions to uncovering fraud during discovery, in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of digital forensics plays a critical role in many aspects of companies’ day-to-day and litigation-related operations.
If your company or firm needs digital forensics expertise, we encourage you to contact Corporate Investigation Consulting. We have the capabilities, experience, and insights required to meet your company’s needs.
We provide digital forensics consulting services to law firms and companies in all industries, and we provide expert witness services for civil and criminal litigation in courts throughout the United States.
About Digital Forensics Expert Witness, Timothy Allen
Timothy Allen is our lead digital forensics expert. Allen is a former Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service and a former Senior Special Agent and Computer Forensics Examiner with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (DOJ OIG).
Allen spent more than a decade working in the U.S. Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Special Agent Program (ECSAP). While with ECSAP, he led numerous investigations involving the use of digital forensics to uncover digital evidence of fraud, counterfeiting, securities offenses, public corruption, and other crimes. During his time with the Secret Service, Allen also served as Program Coordinator for computer forensics training for the Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and he spoke on behalf of the Secret Service before the U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science, and Research and Development.
As a Senior Special Agent and Computer Forensics Examiner with the DOJ OIG, Allen performed and oversaw digital forensics examinations of intrusions and data breaches into highly classified government networks. He was also responsible for managing personnel within the DOJ’s Cyber Investigations Office as the Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge.
During his tenure with the federal government, Allen also represented the United States before foreign nations on matters involving electronic crimes. Allen’s digital forensics experience with the federal government is truly unique, and today he relies on the expertise gained from this experience to advise companies in the private sector.
As a private digital forensics consultant and expert witness, Allen works with companies of all sizes and in all industries. He maintains active Top Secret and TS/SCI Sensitive Compartmented Information Clearance, and he is an ISC2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), certified Cyber Crime Investigator, certified Seized Computer Evidence Recovery Specialist (SCERS), certified criminal investigator, certified Cellebrite Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) Mobile Device and Physical Examiner.
Put our highly experienced team on your side
Roger Bach
Former Special Agent (OIG)
Timothy E. Allen
Former Senior Special Agent U.S. Secret Service
Chris J. Quick
Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)
Maura Kelley
Former Special Agent (FBI)
Ray Yuen
Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)
Michael S. Koslow
Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)
Marquis D. Pickett
Special Agent U.S. Secret Service (ret.)
Consultant and Expert Witness for Digital Forensics and Discovery Matters
Allen serves as a consultant and digital forensic expert witness for discovery matters. He is available to assist with business and litigation matters nationwide. Whether you own a business that has a need for digital forensics expertise, or you are an attorney in need of a digital forensics expert to assist with discovery or provide an expert witness testimony at trial, we encourage you to schedule an appointment to discuss Allen’s expertise in the areas of:
Examining Electronic Devices and Networks
For business or litigation purposes, examining electronic devices, including mobile devices and networks, requires in-depth knowledge of the relevant hardware, software, operating systems, system architectures, and encryption and decryption techniques. When examining devices and networks in anticipation of (or in connection with) litigation, also requires familiarity with the relevant rules of electronic evidence.
As a result of his experience as a former agent and his experience testifying as a digital forensics expert in civil and criminal cases across the country, Allen is well versed in the issues involved with examining devices and networks both internally and owned by litigants or other third parties.
Conducting Electronic Discovery
The electronic discovery landscape is constantly shifting. Voluminous discovery is now commonplace in both civil and criminal cases, and it is becoming increasingly challenging to identify, secure, and examine all relevant sources of information from computer data. As a result, conducting effective electronic discovery requires substantial expertise in digital forensics—and similar expertise is needed to ensure that litigants meet their own electronic discovery obligations.
Uncovering Discovery Fraud
Because of the increasing complexity of electronic discovery, discovery fraud is also a very real concern. Whether litigants intentionally withhold relevant information, thinking it will not be found, or they unwittingly fail to disclose the existence of relevant devices, litigants (and their law firms) cannot afford to let this go unnoticed or unresolved. Allen’s expertise includes uncovering discovery fraud, and he is able to provide reports and expert testimony proving litigants’ fraudulent discovery practices as well.
Consulting on Trial Strategy Pertaining to Digital Forensics
Because of the complexity of digital forensics, it often plays a central role in trial strategy. From ensuring the admissibility of evidence secured through digital forensics to demonstrating how pieces of data come together to substantiate a claim or defense, the ability to interpret digital forensics concepts and explain them in clear and simple terms is essential when presenting digital evidence. Having consulted on and served as an expert witness for numerous trials, Allen is familiar with the challenges involved in using digital forensics for litigation purposes, and he is equally familiar with the ways in which these challenges can be overcome.
Consulting on Internal and External Investigations Involving Digital Forensics
Allen also consults on internal and external investigations involving digital forensics conducted either in anticipation of trial or in hopes of avoiding litigation. He and the rest of our team are fully equipped to conduct both onsite and offsite digital forensics investigations of any scale.
Drafting Reports and Testifying on Digital Forensics and E-Discovery Matters
The ability to clearly and simply explain complex digital forensics concepts is vital in litigation. An expert report is useless if no one but its author can understand it. Allen relies on his extensive experience in the public and private sectors to provide reports and testimony that illustrate complex concepts in terms that are easy to understand pertaining to both digital forensics and e-discovery matters.
FAQs: Digital Forensics, Discovery, and Expert Reports and Testimony
When is it worth hiring a digital forensics expert for discovery?
It is worth hiring a digital forensics expert for discovery in almost all cases. Because of the complexity of e-discovery, litigants and law firms alike need to feel confident that they are both (a) producing all electronic data they are required to produce, and (b) collecting all data they are entitled to collect. Without digital forensics expertise, it is virtually impossible to ensure that both of these tasks are being completed effectively.
When is it worth hiring a digital forensics expert for trial?
The services that a digital forensics expert can provide at trial include (but are by no means limited to): confirming the source and authenticity of data, addressing discovery fraud and other discovery-related issues, tracing electronic communications and transactions, explaining cybersecurity tactics and network vulnerabilities, and explaining anti-forensics tactics and other complex concepts in the field of digital forensics.
How do you choose a reliable digital forensics expert?
Choosing a reliable digital forensics expert can be difficult. There are lots of people who offer their services and claim to be “experts.” There are lots of certification programs offering digital forensic certifications that vary greatly in terms of their authenticity and veracity. Even someone who is well credentialed or a certified computer examiner or computer scientist can lack the up-to-date knowledge needed to consult on a civil or criminal litigation matter effectively.
With this in mind, relevant experience is, without a doubt, the most important consideration. A qualified digital forensics expert will have decades of relevant experience, including significant recent experience serving as an expert witness at trial. At Corporate Investigation Consulting, this is the expertise we offer, and Timothy Allen is a highly respected digital forensics expert with a nationwide reputation for his skill and integrity.
What if I need a digital forensics expert who is available nationwide or internationally?
Whether your company (or your client) has multiple office locations or you need to conduct on-site e-discovery in cities across the country, Corporate Investigation Consulting can help. Allen is available to consult and serve as an expert witness in all state and federal jurisdictions, and our team is available to provide e-discovery and litigation support as needed both nationally and internationally.
Schedule an Appointment to Discuss Your Company’s or Firm’s Digital Forensics Needs
If your company or law firm is in need of a digital forensics expert for an investigation, discovery, or trial, we encourage you to contact us for more information. We provide our services nationwide. To discuss your company’s or firm’s digital forensics needs with Mr. Allen in confidence, please call 866-352-9324 or request an appointment online today.