Email archiving aids in London investigation

Over 20 arrests have been made in connection with charges of public official corruption, due in large part to the powerful e-discovery tools used to extract evidence contained in a London-based tabloid's email archive.

The Sun's database includes over 300 million archived emails, documents and other records of communication dating back seven years. Reuters notes that the publication's management and standards committee is working closely with 100 people - including law firm employees, forensic advisers and computer experts - to recover pertinent information.

The Guardian explains that evidence found by the investigatory team  was given to the police after searching the database and resulted in the arrests of five journalists from The Sun on February 11. More than a dozen journalists have been taken into custody to date as a result of the controversy, and Sun employees fear that the saga is far from over. 

Although it remains to be seen how this trial will be resolved, it is clear that the consequences could have been much different in the absence of an effective email archiving solution. These systems store older communications in order to save and protect information to help companies comply with industry regulation and effectively respond to litigation.