de-duplication: the removal of duplicate data (e-mail, user files) by electronic means. A real money and time saver.

degaussing: the process of removing data from magnetic storage media by means of electro-magnetic energy.

data destruction policy: a formalized policy within an organization for the destruction/expiration of data.

data retention policy: a formalized policy within an organization for the preservation of data.

forensic: relating to the use of science or technology in the investigation and establishment of facts or evidence in a court of law.

hashing: the process of taking "digital fingerprints" of data to validate authenticity.

load file: a set of instructions that allows for the importation of data into legal review tools, such as Concordance and Summation.

metadata: data about data. Metadata tracks such information as when data was created, by whom, was it read (e-mail), where it is located on the file system, etc.

native environment: the combination of hardware and software that was utilized at the time the data was preserved. In most circumstances, it is technically impossible to recreate.

native file: a file in the form created by the originating application.

non-native data extraction: the restoration of data outside of the original or "native" environment.