Federal law enforcement can only gather proprietary information concerning an incident in the following ways:

Federal law enforcement agencies must obtainlegal authorizationto access proprietary information.

The methods include:

Voluntary disclosure– When a company voluntarily shares data with law enforcement.

Court order– Issued by a judge to access specific records.

Grand jury subpoena– Used to compel testimony or evidence.

Search warrant– Required for seizing electronic evidence.

Unauthorized accessviolates privacy laws, including theFourth Amendmentin the U.S..

Reference:

U.S. Patriot Act Cybercrime Provisions

Federal Digital Evidence Collection Guidelines

McAfee Institute Cyber Investigation Training