Professional services group Deloitte announced it has “almost doubled” its forensic team in the north west.
Nine new specialists have been appointed to the team, with half focussed on analysing “large and complex data sets”, including those related to instant messaging.
Deloitte said it made developments to the team, which specialises in helping clients react to crises, investigations or disputes, as there had been a notable increase in companies conducting business through apps such as WhatsApp, Slack and Facebook Messenger.
WhatsApp Business, the corporate version of the messaging app, had more than five million users last year, it said.
Deloitte said: “These mobile apps present numerous challenges for businesses when it comes to monitoring, accessing and controlling communications, partly due to the encryption of the underlying data.
“As communication between parties using these apps is often vital evidence, the encryption these applications use can create serious challenges for investigations.”
Ian Hughes, forensic director in the North West, said Deloitte had also made “significant developments” in how it responds to the challenges faced by evolving technologies and rising data volumes.
Deloitte said the forensic team has developed a new methodology for capturing communications data, where data is extracted, processed and loaded into an document review tool so clients can read it in a simpler format.
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Mr Hughes continued: “In the event of an economic crime or misconduct investigation, the process of extracting relevant data to uncover the facts is complex but our clients understandably need answers quickly to enable them to implement an appropriate response.
“Innovative solutions, such as our instant messaging application methodology, enable us to obtain these insights more quickly and add real value to our clients. With plans to expand our technology team further in the future, we are excited for what the future holds.”