Redefining Digital Forensics: Inside Proven Data’s Transformation by
Published on: April 10, 2025
In today’s interview, SafetyDetectives is Introducing Bogdan Glushko, the CEO of Proven Data. Founded in 2011 with a focus on data recovery, Proven Data underwent a transformative acquisition in 2023. Under Glushko’s new leadership, the company has embraced a mission centered on comprehensive incident response and digital forensic investigations services, with a strong emphasis on a strict and ethical chain of command protocols to ensure the integrity and security of client data.
So, this new leadership in 2023 signified a lot of changes within the company. How did that go about?
When I took over leadership in 2023, one of my key priorities was expanding Proven Data beyond traditional data recovery into a full-fledged digital forensics and incident response firm. While data recovery was always a core part of the business, I saw a growing need for more sophisticated forensic capabilities.
To achieve this, we overhauled our incident response protocols, placing a stronger emphasis on data carving and research & development to extract evidence from complex digital environments. Today, our primary focus is digital forensics, ensuring that every piece of data we recover is handled with the highest level of forensic integrity.
Digital forensics sounds complex—what kind of digital media and storage devices can you actually extract evidence from?
It really is fascinating how much data can be recovered, even from places you wouldn’t expect. Our team works with everything from computers, servers, and smartphones to more specialized devices like drones, IoT gadgets, and vehicle infotainment systems. Even Cloud storage has become a major area of focus. Our goal is not just to recover data but to provide legally admissible evidence that supports legal teams, law enforcement, and businesses in making informed decisions.
That’s a wide range! You mentioned businesses needing digital forensics, but law enforcement is what comes to mind when we think of digital evidence. Isn’t digital forensics only useful for criminal cases?
Not at all. While we do support law enforcement, a huge part of our work involves helping businesses, law firms, and forensic accountants. Companies use digital forensics for corporate fraud investigations, intellectual property theft, and employee misconduct cases. Attorneys rely on us for litigation support, whether it’s analyzing digital communications in a civil dispute or verifying evidence in a contract breach case.
When it comes to legal proceedings, how do you ensure that digital evidence holds up in court?
That’s where forensic integrity comes in. If evidence isn’t handled properly, it can be challenged or even thrown out in court. We follow strict chain-of-custody protocols and NIST forensic standards to ensure data is collected, preserved, and analyzed properly. Not all digital evidence is admissible, and in most litigation cases, only certain portions can be used in court.
We’ve worked with a wide variety of attorneys who, while highly skilled, aren’t always familiar with the complexities of digital evidence. Our analysts bridge that gap, providing clear forensic reports, expert testimony, and guidance on how to navigate all that in court. From depositions to trial, we ensure that digital evidence stands up to scrutiny.
Given the increasing volume of electronically stored information (ESI) in litigation, how does Proven Data’s eDiscovery service leverage advanced analytics and technology to efficiently identify, analyze, and produce relevant data while controlling costs for law firms and their clients?
Great question. The best analysts don’t just know how to process ESI; they know how to conduct investigations. And the best investigators know how to ask the right questions. Understanding the full scope of a case is what allows us to distinguish relevant evidence from digital noise.
In a perfect world, we could just upload everything into Cellebrite or Magnet AXIOM and let the software do all the work. But real investigations aren’t that simple. Every case has unique complexities, and tools alone won’t uncover the full story. They’re just that—tools. Without a deep understanding of how they work and the principles behind digital evidence, even the most high-tech analysis can be flawed. That’s why our expertise goes beyond pushing buttons; we apply investigative strategy, forensic methodology, and legal insight to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and cost control for law firms and their clients.
How does Proven Data handle the challenges of forensic analysis in cloud environments, especially considering data sovereignty issues and varying security protocols?
Cloud forensics requires a deep understanding of legal and technical challenges. Many cloud providers store data across multiple jurisdictions, so accessing it often involves navigating privacy laws and compliance issues. We use forensic tools that can extract cloud-based evidence while preserving metadata and maintaining chain-of-custody.
What about something simpler, like our smartphones? What steps do you take to ensure the integrity and admissibility of mobile forensics evidence in court?
Mobile forensics is far from simple. Data is often volatile, and evidence tampering is (unfortunately) more common than many realize. That’s why we fight to obtain the physical devices whenever possible, so that we can oversee the imaging process firsthand. We create exact bit-by-bit forensic images, preserving the data without alteration. Every extracted file is assigned a unique hash value, which acts like a digital fingerprint. This allows both sides to verify that they’re analyzing the exact same data, maintaining forensic integrity.
And it should go without saying, but we meticulously document the chain of custody and recover deleted or hidden information, communication records, location data, and metadata. This level of precision ensures that our findings are both admissible in court and strong enough to withstand scrutiny.
With the rise of AI-powered forensic tools, how do you see machine learning shaping the future of digital forensics?
AI is already here and it’s revolutionizing how we analyze large datasets, detect anomalies, and reconstruct user activities. Machine learning models help us predict patterns in fraud cases and even detect deepfake or manipulated evidence. It doesn’t replace the human expert and their experience, but it does help us deliver results faster.
In the future, we expect more sophisticated deepfake detection, encrypted chat forensics, and AI-driven investigations to become even more critical. Cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated, so forensic methods need to evolve just as quickly.
What are some misconceptions businesses have about digital forensics when they first reach out to you?
Many assume digital forensics is just about “hacking into” devices, but in reality, it’s a highly structured and legally compliant process. People also don’t fully understand how much digital evidence can be relevant for cases, especially in civil litigation lawsuits. Another misconception is that deleted files are gone forever—we recover data from formatted drives, wiped devices, and even damaged hardware. If it contains data, it can be analyzed, and if it can be analyzed, it can be used for you or against you in court.
Finally, what sets Proven Data apart from other digital forensics firms?
Our expertise goes beyond just using forensic tools, we understand the theory behind them. Our team has worked with both prosecuting and defense attorneys, which gives us insight into both sides of litigation strategy. So, we don’t just recover data, we provide legally defensible evidence backed by deep technical knowledge, ensuring precise and defensible analysis.. With the training and resources to analyze anything from computers and mobile devices to cloud data and steganography, we leave no stone unturned in uncovering the truth. If you need help head over to provendata.com/contact or send me an email at service@provendata.com.
