On May 13, Maryman’s own Dr. Joe Greenfield, VP & Chief Forensic Examiner, took center stage at the SecureTheVillage Cybersecurity Connect forum, guiding industry peers through an in-depth exploration of digital forensics challenges. This interactive virtual gathering—designed for Southern California’s cybersecurity community—brought together IT leaders, legal professionals, risk managers, and law enforcement under Chatham House Rule to share real-world insights and strengthen collective defenses.
Dr. Greenfield kicked off the session by outlining the core mission of digital forensics: on-scene evidence preservation and post-incident data recovery. He then invited attendees to examine two critical questions:
- What types of data are investigators routinely able to recover?
- What key forensic artifacts often remain missing—and why does that gap matter?
Throughout the hour-long conversation, Dr. Greenfield illustrated common forensic successes—like carving deleted files and reconstructing user timelines—alongside persistent pain points, such as encrypted containers and undocumented cloud-only artifacts.
“In every investigation, there’s a silent narrative buried in the data we can’t retrieve,” Dr. Greenfield noted. “Our challenge as forensic examiners is to continuously adapt our methods, tools, and legal frameworks so that ‘what we’d like to find’ becomes ‘what we can find.’”
Top Takeaways
- Data Preservation Starts Early: Effective triage and imaging must begin at first response to minimize evidence loss.
- Encryption & Cloud Are Moving Targets: Investigators need stronger partnerships with service providers and clearer legal pathways to access ephemeral data.
- Collaboration Is Critical: Bridging the gap between technical, legal, and executive teams accelerates investigations and closes the “forensic discrepancy.”
About Dr. Joe Greenfield
Dr. Greenfield is not only a practiced cyber-forensics investigator but also an Associate Professor in USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, where he helped develop minors and specializations in Applied Computer Security and Digital Forensics. With hundreds of complex systems analyzed over his career, he brings both academic rigor and practical expertise to every case—whether presenting research to the Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force or advising corporate clients on incident response strategy.
What’s Next
SecureTheVillage’s Cybersecurity Connect series continues to provide a collaborative, no-pressure environment for Southern California’s cyber professionals. If you attended May’s session, keep an eye out for follow-up materials and invitations to the June forum. If you haven’t yet joined, apply now to reserve your spot.
For inquiries about digital forensics, incident response, or how Maryman can support your organization, contact us at joe.greenfield@maryman.com or call 818-290-3775.
It takes a village to secure the village™—thank you to SecureTheVillage for hosting another outstanding discussion, and to everyone who contributed their insights this month.