Which process involves the use of electronic data as evidence in a civil or criminal legal case?

The process that involves the use of electronic data as evidence in a civil or criminal legal case is known as eDiscovery investigations. This process is crucial in legal contexts as it encompasses obtaining, reviewing, and managing electronic data for use in litigation. During eDiscovery, various forms of electronic documents such as emails, digital records, and other digital files are collected and examined to support or contest claims made in court.

The key characteristic of eDiscovery is its focus on gathering and preserving electronically stored information (ESI) in a manner that maintains its integrity and admissibility in legal proceedings. Legal teams often utilize eDiscovery tools and techniques to effectively search for and analyze relevant data, ensuring compliance with legal standards and processes.

In contrast, other processes such as due diligence generally pertain to assessments of risks and evaluations of assets prior to a transaction and do not specifically focus on gathering electronic evidence for legal cases. Cloud governance relates to policies and procedures for managing cloud services and does not directly involve legal evidence. Auditing in the cloud focuses on evaluating the systems and controls of cloud services but also lacks the legal context of using data as evidence. Thus, eDiscovery is the most accurate term for processes that specifically handle electronic data in legal scenarios.