When we at Kiersted receive your data, our experienced technicians load the material into our proprietary KEPS e-discovery processing platform.
One of the first and most crucial steps we take is the sweep.
During sweep, we record in our KEPS database metadata from every file you provide. We also generate hash tags to assist with deduplication and look for password protected documents to apply techniques that crack and open them.
In addition, we perform an atomization process examining each file to determine whether it contains one or more child objects. We repeat this process recursively for each child item to see if it in turn is a container for other objects. ZIP archives, PST files, and rich documents often contain embedded objects of various types.
When we find child objects, we break them out as individual atomized items, and add information to the database to preserve the child/parent relationship. Our atomization practice enables us to examine and process each child object just as richly and deeply as the parent object. We collect detailed metadata, generate hash tags, and identify encryption, among other efforts.
More importantly, atomization lays the foundation for all of the initiatives that follow, including our incredibly detailed validation process. The rich details we gather enhance indexing and allow for more accurate searching. They also result in more productive culling, which contributes to a radically efficient process at every stage.