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The Salient Edge

The Salient Edge

By: Solid Gold Podcasts #BeHeard
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Expert. Innovative. Trusted. The Salient Edge is Salient’s podcast series examining the practical realities of digital forensics and eDiscovery. Hosted by David Fisk, the podcast is aimed at corporate investigators, law firms, and forensic accountants who are navigating growing volumes of data, evolving regulatory demands, and complex investigative challenges. Across each episode, David is joined by industry experts to share experience-led perspectives on eDiscovery workflows, DSAR and regulatory response, forensic data analysis, and the effective use of technology in investigations. The conversations focus on defensible decision-making, proportional approaches, and the critical role of human judgment - helping professionals stay informed, confident, and effective as data complexity continues to grow.Solid Gold Podcasts #BeHeard Economics
Episodes
  • Inside Digital Forensics: Tracing Digital Footprints, Fraud & Data Exfiltration

    Inside Digital Forensics: Tracing Digital Footprints, Fraud & Data Exfiltration
    Jun 25 2026
    How modern forensic investigations uncover hidden evidence across devices, emails, documents, and cloud platforms.

    In this episode of The Salient Edge, host David Fisk is joined by Frikkie Viljoen to explore the fast-evolving world of digital forensics, cyber investigations and eDiscovery.
    From business email compromise and document falsification to USB data exfiltration, GPS tracking and forensic evidence recovery, this episode unpacks how digital footprints left behind by modern technology can support complex investigations and litigation matters.
    Drawing on more than 16 years of technical and forensic experience, Frikkie explains how investigators preserve and extract evidence from laptops, mobile phones, cloud platforms and removable storage devices - while maintaining defensible forensic processes and chain of custody.
    The conversation explores the growing sophistication of cyber fraud, including compromised business email accounts, fake banking detail changes, falsified employment documents and manipulated PDFs. The episode also highlights how forensic investigators recover deleted files, trace USB activity, analyse metadata, reconstruct print jobs and identify location data through Wi-Fi and GPS records.

    Listeners will gain practical insight into:
    - Digital forensics and forensic evidence collection
    - Business email compromise investigations
    - Cyber fraud and document falsification detection
    - USB data theft and insider risk investigations
    - Metadata analysis and forensic artefacts
    - GPS and Wi-Fi location tracking in investigations
    - Cloud, mobile, and laptop forensic challenges
    - Defensible collections and chain of custody
    - The role of forensic technology in legal and corporate investigations

    Whether you work in legal, corporate investigations, cybersecurity, forensic accounting or compliance, this episode provides a practical look at how digital forensic specialists uncover evidence hidden across modern technology ecosystems. Visit our website
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    38 mins
  • DSARs in Practice: Managing Complex Requests with Technology and Oversight

    DSARs in Practice: Managing Complex Requests with Technology and Oversight
    Apr 13 2026
    A practical look at handling high-risk DSARs using modern eDiscovery tools and structured review workflows.

    Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) are becoming more complex, more frequent and in some cases, more strategic.

    In this episode of The Salient Edge, David Fisk is joined by Andrew Punter from Reveal to explore how organisations can respond effectively to modern DSAR challenges — particularly where requests are high-risk, multi-faceted, or potentially linked to litigation.

    Building on a previous discussion around DSAR strategy, this conversation focuses on the practical application of technology within the process. From early case assessment and data scoping through to review, redaction and disclosure, the episode examines how platforms like Reveal can support structured, defensible responses.

    The discussion also addresses the growing reality of “weaponised” DSARs—requests that extend beyond privacy rights and into legal or commercial strategy. In these scenarios, coordination between legal, HR and privacy teams becomes critical, as does having the right investigative and eDiscovery capability in place.

    While technology plays an important role, David and Andrew emphasise that DSAR processing still requires careful human oversight—particularly when dealing with nuance, privilege, third-party data and regulatory risk. The episode explores how organisations can strike the right balance between efficiency and control, using tools such as advanced search, analytics, machine learning and visualisation to support decision-making without over-reliance on automation.

    Key topics covered include:
    - Managing complex and high-risk DSARs
    - Understanding and responding to “weaponised” requests
    - The role of eDiscovery platforms in DSAR workflows
    - Structuring review processes and escalation paths
    - Redaction strategies and disclosure considerations
    - The importance of proportionality and defensible decision-making

    This episode is essential listening for corporate investigators, legal teams, compliance professionals, and anyone responsible for managing DSARs in a regulated environment. Visit our website
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    20 mins
  • The Evolution of Corporate Investigations: Independence, Standards, and the Human Role in an AI World

    The Evolution of Corporate Investigations: Independence, Standards, and the Human Role in an AI World
    Feb 26 2026
    Independence, accountability, and human oversight in a technology-driven era.

    What do modern corporate investigations really look like - beyond the headlines and beyond the technology?

    In this episode of The Salient Edge, host David Fisk speaks with Ash Sharma, seasoned corporate investigator and Chief Strategy Officer of the Association of Corporate Investigators (ACI), about the evolution of corporate investigations over the past 25 years - and the structural, regulatory, and technological forces reshaping the profession today.

    From his early career at the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office to leading complex global investigations across banking, Ash shares firsthand insight into how corporate investigations differ fundamentally from law enforcement. Today's investigators must navigate international fraud, bribery and corruption, sanctions violations, supply chain fraud, workplace misconduct, regulatory exposure and cross-border financial crime - all within increasingly complex corporate structures.

    A core theme of the discussion is investigator independence. Ash explains why investigations should not sit under legal or HR functions, how reporting structures influence outcomes and why true independence - ideally reporting directly to the audit committee or board - is critical to defensibility, transparency, and accountability.

    Current trends covered include:
    - The rise in supply chain fraud, vendor fraud, and third party risk
    - Increasing workplace misconduct investigations (bullying, harassment, retaliation)
    - Cross-border regulatory enforcement under legislation such as the UK Bribery Act and FCPA
    - The growing complexity of pharmaceutical, sanctions, and global trade investigations
    - The practical realities of AI in investigations - including generative AI, automation, and the risk of over-reliance

    While AI and technology are improving efficiency in transaction monitoring, eDiscovery, and case triage, Ash makes a compelling case for maintaining the human-in-the-loop. Investigations require judgement, contextual understanding, and the ability to challenge outputs - qualities that cannot be automated.

    This episode is essential listening for corporate investigators, compliance leaders, legal teams, forensic accountants, audit committees, and governance professionals seeking to strengthen investigative independence, reduce regulatory risk, and build defensible internal investigation frameworks.

    Corporate investigations are becoming more sophisticated - but independence, professional standards, and human judgement remain non-negotiable. Visit our website
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    40 mins
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