P2P

42 GOOGLE WORKSPACE (GMAIL, DRIVE, DOCS) Versioning: Google Drive retains 100 versions or 30 days of edits, whichever comes first, unless a user manually selects "Keep Forever." Legal Hold: Google Vault supports legal holds, but only if files are retained before deletion. Trash-cleared versions of files, including contemporaneous versions, are unrecoverable. Audit Logs: Admin logs track file activity but lack detailed content versioning. Risk: Gmail exports do not include Drive content unless proactively configured. Collecting the hyperlinked files after the email collection adds complexity to family associations. DROPBOX AND BOX Versioning: Basic Dropbox accounts retain only 30 days of version history. Premium accounts may extend this to ten years. Box offers up to 100 versions for Business accounts and unlimited versions for Enterprise. Legal Hold: Must be manually enabled via governance policies. Not all plans support legal hold functionality. Audit Logs: Basic metadata is available, but granular access-content mapping is not standard. Risk: Files shared via links may be lost or overwritten unless administrative settings are carefully maintained. SLACK Versioning: Slack itself does not host file versions; it relies on the linked cloud storage platform (e.g., OneDrive, Google Drive). Retention: Link references may disappear if Slack messages are deleted. Most non-enterprise plans offer limited retention settings. Audit Logs: Track who shared what and when, but not what the file contained or how it evolved. Risk: Slack messages containing hyperlinked files may not be retained long enough for collection, especially without enterprise-grade retention. BEST PRACTICES FOR IT PROFESSIONALS Given the diverse and dynamic nature of hyperlinked files, IT teams must adopt new protocols for defensible data management. • Implement Robust Version Retention Policies: Enforce or extend version history settings wherever possible. Monitor storage thresholds that could trigger roll-off. • Enable Platform-Specific Legal Holds: Configure legal holds to include hyperlinked files in both emails and chat platforms. Be aware of which platforms require manual inclusion of linked files. • Develop a Collection Strategy for Hyperlinked Content: Ensure your ediscovery workflow includes procedures to retrieve files referenced in emails, chats, and shared documents. • Collaborate Early with Legal Teams: Determine whether the "sent," "viewed," or "latest" version of a file is most relevant in each case. • Leverage Audit Logs Judiciously: Cross-reference access logs with version history to reconstruct what a user likely saw at a specific time.

• Cover