Credibility: An internal acquaintanceship could be perceived as a bias in regards to the findings of the investigations
at trial, up to and including the dismissal of collected evidence.
Expense: In-house IT staff being removed from their regular duties raises the cost of regular salary expenses,
plus the value of lost time due to the investigation.
Experience: Professional investigators are constantly trained and educated in new techniques and other
factors that take considerable time to gain proficiency.
Knowledge: Adherence to legal issues in order to maintain acceptability in a court of law is a known issue to
professional investigators. In-house staff may
unknowingly and easily overstep legal boundaries
and destroy the entire case.
conflict with an impartial review of the facts, particularly
if the investigation reveals connections to
a professional/personal acquaintance.
Man Hours: Forensic investigations can often take
hundreds of hours of intense effort. The cost of same
in terms of interruption of business would be difficult
to quantify.
Objectivity: Internal staff may concentrate on looking
for "evidence" that coincides with what their employer
is seeking to discover, possibly "finding" material
that does not actually exist.
Security: It is literally impossible to keep a forensic
investigation conducted "in-house" confidential,
potentially raising privacy issues among employees.