Barr Group's consulting and testifying software and electronics experts help attorneys better understand computing technologies at issue. We specialize in quickly assembling teams of engineers with a perfect blend of skills to perform forensic analysis and/or reverse engineering of computing systems, from complex cloud-hosted and distributed enterprise systems to embedded software and associated electronics and integrated circuits.
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Software and Electronic Reverse Engineering
Reverse engineering is a process of applying engineering expertise and experience to understand a computing system as it exists in the form of software and electronics, with little or no formal information about the designer's intent. Reverse engineering, which is similar to forensic analysis, is regularly performed for competitive industry purposes as well as in pre-litigation and litigation (e.g., in relation to product failures or alleged patent infringement).
Barr Group's engineers are experienced in reverse engineering as well as with all of the major programming languages used to create complex software, including Python, Java, C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Javascript, Perl, SQL, and assembly. We are also accustomed to working with all manner of operating systems from Windows/MacOS/Linux to real-time operating systems to mobile Android and iOS. Many members of our team are electrical engineers who also design printed circuit boards (PCB) and know the VHDL and Verilog languages.
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Computer Forensic Analysis Services
Barr Group's forensic analysts support attorneys in pre-litigation or litigation in U.S. District Courts, at the International Trade Commission (ITC), before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and in arbitration, as well as in other state, local, and international venues. Our reverse engineering services include assistance with:
- Reverse engineering to support infringement contentions
- Product teardowns and identification of component semiconductors
- Analysis of electronic circuits and related design documents
- Integrated circuit (e.g., FPGA) code review in Verilog/VHDL
- Software source code review and analysis in any language
- Disassembly of binary code and malware (e.g., with IDA Pro)
- Location of patented methods within software and/or electronics
- Wired and wireless network traffic capture via WireShark
- Forensic product testing and (meta-)data recovery
- Identification of bugs and defects in software or electronics
- Root cause analysis for computer system failures
- Safety and security audits of processes and designs
Barr Group has a demonstrated ability to quickly activate one or more forensic analysts to match the size, scope, and complexity of any project.
Case Study: Satellite TV Piracy
In its legal fight against signal pirates, DirecTV retained a team of Barr Group's computer security expert witnesses to engage in thorough electronic circuit reverse engineering and device testing of over one hundred suspected piracy products. Barr Group experts testified that accused products were designed for satellite TV piracy in several dozen cases that went to trial.