Professional Support Forensics for Data Breach Investigations
When a data breach strikes, every minute matters. Petronella Technology Group delivers comprehensive professional forensic investigation services—from corporate cybersecurity forensics and CPA fraud analysis to insurance claims support, medical data breach investigations, and litigation e-discovery—serving businesses across Raleigh, Durham, RTP, and the entire Triangle region of North Carolina.
24/7 incident response available — call 919-348-4912 now
A Data Breach Without Professional Forensics Leads to Devastating Consequences
Organizations that attempt to investigate security incidents without qualified forensic professionals routinely make costly mistakes that compound the original damage and expose the business to regulatory penalties, litigation losses, and prolonged operational disruption.
Evidence destruction through well-intentioned remediation. When internal IT teams rush to contain a breach, they frequently power down systems, reinstall operating systems, or overwrite logs that contain the very forensic artifacts needed to understand what happened. Once this evidence is destroyed, it cannot be recovered, and your organization loses the ability to determine the true scope of the compromise, identify the attacker's methods, or satisfy regulatory reporting obligations with accurate data. Professional forensic examiners know how to preserve volatile evidence before any remediation begins.
Regulatory penalties for incomplete breach investigations. HIPAA, PCI-DSS, CMMC, state breach notification laws, and other regulatory frameworks require organizations to conduct thorough forensic investigations and provide specific details about compromised data in their notifications. North Carolina's Identity Theft Protection Act mandates notification to affected individuals and the Attorney General's office when personal information is compromised. Without a professional forensic analysis, organizations cannot accurately determine which records were accessed, leading to either over-notification that creates unnecessary panic or under-notification that triggers enforcement actions and substantial fines.
Insurance claims denied for lack of technical documentation. Cyber insurance carriers increasingly require policyholders to provide detailed forensic evidence when filing claims for ransomware incidents, business email compromise losses, data exfiltration events, and system destruction attacks. Claims that lack professional forensic documentation are routinely delayed, reduced, or denied entirely. Without an independent forensic investigation establishing the attack vector, timeline, scope, and business impact, your organization may be unable to recover the financial losses that cyber insurance was designed to cover.
Litigation exposure from inadequate e-discovery and evidence handling. Data breaches frequently trigger litigation from affected customers, business partners, employees, and shareholders. Courts demand that electronic evidence be collected, preserved, and produced following strict protocols. Organizations that fail to implement proper litigation holds, use forensically unsound collection methods, or cannot demonstrate chain of custody face spoliation sanctions, adverse inference instructions, and case-dispositive penalties. Professional forensic services ensure that every piece of digital evidence is handled in a manner that withstands legal scrutiny in Raleigh, Durham, and Triangle-area courtrooms and beyond.
End-to-End Professional Forensic Services from a Team You Can Trust
Petronella Technology Group provides a complete suite of professional forensic investigation services designed to serve organizations at every stage of a data breach or security incident. Whether you are a corporate executive responding to a network intrusion, a CPA firm investigating financial irregularities that may involve digital manipulation, an insurance carrier adjudicating a cyber claim, a healthcare organization navigating a HIPAA breach notification, or an attorney preparing electronic evidence for litigation, PTG has the certified forensic examiners, proven methodologies, and court-tested processes to deliver the answers you need.
Our forensic practice is built on more than 22 years of cybersecurity experience serving over 2,500 companies across the Triangle region and throughout North Carolina. We maintain a strong security track record for clients on our managed program on our managed security engagements, and that same rigor extends to our forensic investigations. Every engagement begins with immediate evidence preservation, followed by systematic analysis using industry-standard forensic tools and methodologies that satisfy the requirements of federal and state courts, regulatory bodies, insurance carriers, and internal stakeholders.
What distinguishes PTG from general IT consultants who offer forensic services as an afterthought is the depth and breadth of our practice. We maintain dedicated forensic workstations, write-blocking hardware, and secure evidence storage facilities. Our forensic practice partners with professionals holding certifications including GCFE, GCFA, and CCE. We follow the NIST Special Publication 800-86 guidelines for forensic analysis and maintain procedures aligned with the Department of Justice's Electronic Crime Scene Investigation guidelines.
Critically, PTG understands that forensic investigations do not occur in a vacuum. They intersect with legal proceedings, regulatory compliance obligations, insurance claims processes, and ongoing business operations. Our forensic team works collaboratively with your legal counsel, compliance officers, insurance brokers, and executive leadership to ensure that investigation findings are delivered in the format and timeline each stakeholder requires. From the first phone call to the final expert witness testimony, PTG is your single point of accountability for professional forensic services in the Raleigh, Durham, RTP, and greater Triangle area.
Five-Phase Investigation Process
- 1 Triage & Preservation — Immediate evidence preservation using write-blocking hardware, volatile data capture, and forensic imaging with cryptographic hash verification to establish an unbreakable chain of custody from the very first moment.
- 2 Collection & Acquisition — Systematic collection of all relevant digital evidence across endpoints, servers, network devices, cloud environments, email systems, and mobile devices using forensically sound acquisition protocols.
- 3 Analysis & Reconstruction — Deep forensic analysis to reconstruct the complete timeline of events, identify attack vectors, determine the scope of data compromise, and attribute activity to specific actors or systems.
- 4 Reporting & Documentation — Comprehensive forensic reports tailored to each stakeholder, including executive summaries for leadership, technical reports for IT teams, regulatory documentation for compliance, and expert declarations for legal proceedings.
- 5 Remediation & Testimony — Actionable remediation guidance to prevent recurrence, ongoing support during regulatory inquiries, and expert witness testimony in court proceedings, arbitration, or depositions as needed.
Specialized Forensic Expertise for Every Scenario
PTG provides five distinct professional forensic service lines, each staffed by certified examiners with deep domain expertise in the specific industries, regulations, and investigation types they serve.
Corporate Cybersecurity Forensics
Full-spectrum forensic investigation services for corporations experiencing network intrusions, ransomware attacks, insider threats, data exfiltration, and advanced persistent threats. PTG's corporate forensics team responds to active incidents, conducts root cause analysis, determines the scope of data compromise, and delivers executive-level reporting that satisfies board governance requirements, regulatory obligations, and insurance claim documentation. Our examiners work alongside your legal counsel to ensure privilege protection throughout the investigation process, serving corporate clients across Raleigh, Durham, RTP, and the broader Triangle business community.
Explore Corporate Forensics →CPA Forensic Services
Specialized digital forensic support for certified public accountants, audit firms, and financial investigators who need to examine electronic records, recover deleted financial data, trace digital transaction trails, and establish the integrity of digital accounting records. PTG partners with CPA firms throughout North Carolina to provide the technical forensic capabilities that complement financial audit and fraud examination expertise. Whether investigating embezzlement, financial statement manipulation, or electronically facilitated fraud schemes, our forensic examiners deliver the digital evidence that accountants need to complete their analyses and support their conclusions.
Explore CPA Forensics →Insurance Forensic Services
Independent forensic investigation services that serve both insurance carriers and policyholders during cyber insurance claims adjudication. PTG provides the technical evidence and expert analysis that carriers require to evaluate claim validity and that policyholders need to document their losses accurately. Our insurance forensics team understands policy language, coverage triggers, exclusion clauses, and the specific technical documentation that claims adjusters and underwriters evaluate. We deliver objective, defensible findings that facilitate fair and efficient claims resolution for cyber incidents including ransomware, business email compromise, and data breach events across the Triangle region.
Explore Insurance Forensics →Medical Data Breach Forensics
HIPAA-specialized forensic investigation services for healthcare organizations, hospitals, clinics, health plans, and business associates that have experienced a breach involving protected health information. PTG's medical forensics team understands the unique regulatory world of healthcare data, including the Breach Notification Rule timelines, the distinction between secured and unsecured PHI, and the documentation requirements for HHS Office for Civil Rights investigations. We determine whether PHI was actually accessed or acquired, identify the specific individuals affected, and produce the technical documentation required for mandatory notifications to HHS, patients, and media outlets when applicable.
Explore Medical Forensics →Litigation E-Discovery Forensics
Court-ready electronic discovery services that support attorneys and legal departments through the entire EDRM lifecycle: identification, preservation, collection, processing, review, analysis, production, and presentation of electronically stored information. PTG's e-discovery forensics team handles complex data sources including email archives, cloud platforms, mobile devices, enterprise applications, encrypted storage, and legacy systems. We ensure defensible collection methodologies, maintain detailed chain-of-custody documentation, and provide technology-assisted review capabilities that reduce costs while maintaining thoroughness. Our services support litigation holds, subpoena responses, regulatory investigations, and internal reviews for law firms and corporate legal teams across NC.
Explore E-Discovery Forensics →Emergency Incident Response
When a breach is actively unfolding, PTG provides emergency incident response services that combine immediate containment with forensic preservation. Our incident response team is available around the clock to deploy on-site to your Raleigh, Durham, or Triangle-area facility, or to begin remote forensic triage within hours of your call. We coordinate with your IT team, legal counsel, and executive leadership to stabilize the situation, preserve critical evidence before it disappears, and initiate the forensic investigation process in parallel with containment and recovery efforts. Every emergency engagement transitions smoothly into a full professional forensic investigation as the situation stabilizes.
Request Emergency Response →Trusted by Organizations Across North Carolina's Triangle
Ready to see what PTG can do for your business? Schedule a free consultation and join the businesses across the Triangle that trust us with their technology.
919-348-4912Professional Forensic Services for Every Investigation
Each forensic service line is purpose-built for the specific industries, regulations, and investigation types it serves. Explore the service that matches your situation, or contact PTG to discuss your needs.
Corporate Cybersecurity Forensics
Incident response, root cause analysis, and executive-level breach investigation for corporations.
CPA Forensic Services
Digital forensic support for accountants, auditors, and financial fraud investigators.
Insurance Forensic Services
Independent forensic evidence for cyber insurance claims adjudication and documentation.
Medical Data Breach Forensics
HIPAA-specialized forensic investigation for PHI compromises and healthcare data breaches.
Litigation E-Discovery Forensics
Court-admissible electronic discovery, evidence collection, and ESI production services.
All Data Breach Forensics Services
Explore PTG's complete portfolio of data breach forensics and incident response capabilities.
PTG's professional forensic services extend across every major industry sector in the Raleigh-Durham-RTP corridor and throughout North Carolina. We serve healthcare organizations navigating HIPAA breach notifications, defense contractors managing CMMC-related security incidents, financial institutions investigating fraud and data theft, law firms requiring e-discovery and expert testimony, insurance carriers and policyholders processing cyber claims, and CPA firms conducting financial investigations that require digital evidence recovery and analysis. Each engagement is tailored to the specific regulatory, legal, and operational demands of the client's industry.
The Difference Between Forensic Guesswork and Forensic Certainty
When the stakes involve regulatory penalties, litigation outcomes, insurance recoveries, and your organization's reputation, you cannot afford a forensic investigation that cuts corners. PTG delivers the rigor, experience, and defensibility that every stakeholder demands. Here is what separates PTG from other providers in the Triangle and beyond:
- 22+ years and zero breaches among clients who implemented our full security recommendations—Our track record across more than two decades serving Raleigh, Durham, RTP, and North Carolina organizations demonstrates the depth of our cybersecurity and forensic expertise. We do not just investigate breaches; we prevent them.
- Certified forensic examiners on staff—Our forensic practice partners with certified professionals holding industry-recognized certifications including GCFE, GCFA, CCE, and CompTIA certifications.
- Court-tested evidence handling—PTG forensic evidence has been admitted in federal and state courts, regulatory proceedings, arbitration hearings, and insurance claim adjudications. Our chain-of-custody protocols withstand the most rigorous legal scrutiny.
- Multi-stakeholder reporting—We produce forensic deliverables tailored to every audience: executive summaries for boards, technical reports for IT teams, regulatory documentation for compliance officers, expert declarations for attorneys, and claims evidence packages for insurance carriers.
- Integrated prevention and response—Unlike pure forensic firms, PTG provides both proactive cybersecurity services and reactive forensic investigation. This means our forensic examiners understand defensive technologies from the inside, enabling faster and more accurate analysis of how breaches occur and how to prevent recurrence.
- Local Triangle presence with national reach—Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, PTG's forensic team can deploy to your Triangle-area facility within hours. We combine the responsiveness of a local partner with forensic capabilities that match the largest national firms, at pricing that respects the budgets of mid-market and growing organizations.
Ransomware Recovery with Full Insurance Claim Approval
A mid-sized CPA firm in Raleigh was hit with a ransomware attack that encrypted their entire file server during tax season. Their cyber insurance carrier required an independent forensic investigation before processing the claim. The firm's initial IT consultant had already rebooted affected systems, potentially compromising critical evidence.
PTG's forensic team recovered volatile artifacts from memory dumps, reconstructed the attack timeline from surviving log data, identified the initial compromise vector as a phishing email, and documented the full scope of encrypted data. Our forensic report satisfied the carrier's technical requirements and supported the firm's business interruption claim.
Professional Forensics Questions Answered
Get answers to the most common questions about PTG's professional forensic investigation services for businesses and professionals across the Triangle region.
Professional support forensics encompasses a range of specialized digital investigation services designed for organizations that have experienced a data breach, suspect fraudulent activity, face litigation requiring electronic evidence, or need to satisfy regulatory reporting obligations. PTG provides these services to businesses across Raleigh, Durham, RTP, and the entire Triangle region of North Carolina. You need professional forensics whenever a security incident occurs, a regulatory body demands an investigation, an insurance claim requires digital evidence, a legal proceeding involves electronic discovery, or financial irregularities necessitate forensic accounting support. The earlier you engage a forensic specialist, the better preserved your evidence chain will be.
PTG offers five core professional forensic service lines: corporate cybersecurity forensics for businesses investigating network intrusions and data breaches; CPA forensic services supporting accountants and auditors with digital evidence for financial investigations and fraud detection; insurance forensic services that provide carriers and policyholders with technical evidence for cyber-related claims; medical data breach forensics specialized in HIPAA-regulated environments and protected health information compromises; and litigation e-discovery forensics delivering court-admissible digital evidence collection, processing, review, and production for legal proceedings. Each service line is staffed by certified forensic examiners with industry-specific expertise.
PTG follows rigorous chain-of-custody protocols that satisfy the most demanding legal and regulatory standards. Every piece of digital evidence is documented from the moment of acquisition through final disposition. We use write-blocking hardware during evidence collection to prevent any modification of original data, create forensically sound bit-for-bit images with cryptographic hash verification, maintain detailed custody logs recording every individual who handles evidence, store evidence in secure facilities with access controls and environmental monitoring, and provide sworn declarations and expert testimony regarding evidence integrity when required for court proceedings or regulatory hearings.
Yes. PTG's forensic examiners are experienced expert witnesses who have provided testimony in federal and state courts, regulatory proceedings, arbitration hearings, and depositions. Through our partner network, PTG engagements have access to professionals holding certifications including GCFE, GCFA, and CCE. We prepare comprehensive forensic reports written for both technical and non-technical audiences, and our examiners work closely with legal counsel to ensure that findings are presented clearly, defensibly, and in accordance with the Federal Rules of Evidence and applicable state rules. PTG serves attorneys, law firms, and corporate legal departments throughout the Raleigh-Durham Triangle and across North Carolina.
The most critical step is to preserve evidence by not turning off, rebooting, or modifying affected systems. Isolate compromised machines from the network if possible, but do not power them down, as volatile data in memory can contain crucial forensic artifacts. Document everything you observe including timestamps, error messages, and unusual behavior. Do not attempt to clean, restore, or investigate systems on your own, as well-intentioned actions can destroy evidence and compromise the investigation. Restrict knowledge of the breach to essential personnel only, and contact PTG immediately at 919-348-4912. Our incident response team is available around the clock and can provide immediate guidance while mobilizing for on-site or remote forensic collection.
PTG's insurance forensic services bridge the gap between technical investigation and claims adjudication. When a policyholder files a cyber insurance claim or a carrier needs independent verification, PTG conducts a thorough forensic investigation to determine the nature, scope, and timeline of the incident. We document the attack vector, quantify the data and systems affected, assess business interruption impact, identify remediation costs, and produce a detailed forensic report that satisfies both the carrier's technical requirements and the policyholder's claims documentation needs. Our findings have supported claims for ransomware attacks, business email compromise, data exfiltration, and system destruction events across the Triangle region.
Yes. Medical data breach forensics is one of PTG's specialized service lines. We understand the unique requirements of HIPAA-regulated environments, including the Breach Notification Rule's 60-day reporting timeline, the distinction between secured and unsecured protected health information, and the specific documentation requirements for HHS Office for Civil Rights investigations. PTG conducts forensic investigations that determine whether PHI was actually accessed or acquired, identifies the specific records and individuals affected, establishes the timeline and scope of the breach, and produces the technical documentation needed for mandatory breach notifications to HHS, affected individuals, and media outlets when required. We serve healthcare practices, hospitals, clinics, health plans, and business associates throughout Raleigh, Durham, and the NC Triangle.
Forensic investigation and e-discovery serve different but often complementary purposes. Forensic investigation focuses on determining what happened during a security incident or suspected wrongdoing by analyzing systems, logs, network traffic, and digital artifacts to reconstruct events and identify responsible parties. E-discovery, by contrast, is the process of identifying, collecting, processing, reviewing, and producing electronically stored information in response to litigation holds, subpoenas, or regulatory requests. PTG provides both services, and in many cases a single engagement involves elements of each. For example, a data breach may require forensic investigation to understand the incident while simultaneously triggering litigation that demands e-discovery of related communications and documents.
The cost and duration of forensic investigations vary significantly based on the complexity of the incident, the number of systems involved, the volume of data requiring analysis, and the specific deliverables needed. A focused investigation involving a single compromised workstation may take days, while a large-scale corporate breach spanning dozens of servers and months of attacker activity can require weeks of intensive analysis. PTG provides transparent pricing with detailed engagement scopes before work begins. We offer emergency incident response retainers for organizations that want guaranteed rapid-response SLAs, as well as project-based pricing for planned investigations. Contact PTG at 919-348-4912 for a confidential consultation and scoping estimate tailored to your situation.
PTG combines local presence with enterprise-caliber forensic capabilities that rival national firms. Being headquartered in Raleigh means our forensic examiners can be on-site at your Triangle-area facility within hours rather than days. We have established relationships with local law enforcement, regulatory bodies, and legal communities that facilitate smoother investigations and reporting. Our team understands the specific industry world of the Raleigh-Durham-RTP corridor, from healthcare and biotech to defense contracting and financial services. With 22-plus years of operations, more than 2,500 companies served, and zero breaches among clients who implemented our full security recommendations on our managed security side, PTG brings unmatched regional expertise and a proven track record to every forensic engagement.
Need a Professional Forensic Investigation? PTG Is Ready.
Whether you are responding to an active data breach, preparing for litigation, investigating financial irregularities, filing an insurance claim, or managing a HIPAA notification, Petronella Technology Group's certified forensic examiners are ready to help. With 22+ years of experience, 2,500+ companies served, and zero breaches among clients who implemented our full security recommendations across our managed services, PTG delivers the forensic expertise your situation demands. Contact us today for a confidential consultation—our incident response team is available around the clock for emergencies.
24/7 emergency response — call us directly at 919-348-4912