Digital Evidence Integrity and Reliability Assessment

Some of the digital evidence submitted in legal proceedings is open to challenge because of how it was obtained.

Copying evidence without write protection, failing to record a verification hash or not documenting the chain of custody can weaken its reliability. Setting out these gaps technically helps the process run soundly.

• Technical assessment of how the evidence was acquired
• Verification hash check and integrity validation
• Review of chain of custody records
• Consistency analysis of timestamps
• Search for signs of later interference or alteration
• Assessment of whether the tools and methods used were appropriate
• Technical review of an existing digital forensics report
• Preparation of an objective assessment report

This is not an interpretation of what the evidence says; it is a technical review of how the evidence was obtained and whether its integrity was preserved. We use good practice from international guidelines such as ISO/IEC 27037 as our benchmark.

1. Intake and custody: we confirm the requester's legal authority, sign a non-disclosure agreement and receive the material with a signed evidence handover record. The chain of custody is documented from this point on.
2. Verification: the hash value of the evidence copy is recalculated and compared with the recorded value.
3. Analysis: the acquisition method, chain of custody documents, timestamps and tools used are reviewed, and the results are reported without regard to which party they favour.
4. Reporting and return: findings are reported together with the scope and limitations of the work. The material is returned against a signed record and working copies are either not retained at all or kept for 3 or 6 months, as the client prefers, and then securely destroyed.

Duration varies from case to case depending on the type of device or material, the data volume and the scope of the examination. We share an estimated timeframe after the initial assessment.

Law firms, parties submitting or facing digital evidence, and in-house legal teams.