Mark Lanterman (mlanterman@compforensics.com) is Chief Technology Officer at Computer Forensic Services Inc. in Minnetonka, MN.

As technology becomes an ever-more pervasive element of our lives, I think the consequent reality is the fact that much of what we do is in some way documented, communicated, and stored. The reality of living in a connected world means that we are always communicating, always documenting, and always storing vast amounts of information about our daily lives. A world of information is created about our daily activities each and every day, especially by those snitches we carry around in our pockets — our smartphones. From fitness apps, to email, to social media, to messaging applications, to our calendars and GPS information, so much data is amassed on our phones alone that it’s difficult to fully comprehend. Surely, the Internet of Things (IoT) has opened up an abundance of convenience previously only imagined. The IoT describes a significant element of most of our lives, and it is an expansive part of how the world is now operated.