Title: How to Preserve Digital Evidence in Case of Legal Investigation | EdTech Magazine
Headings: How to Preserve Digital Evidence in Case of Legal Investigation
Management
How to Preserve Digital Evidence in Case of Legal Investigation
Recent incidents have shown how important it is for colleges and universities to preserve evidence – including digital evidence – that may be required in a legal investigation.
Where's the Proof?
Collect and Preserve
A Shield and a Sword
Chain of Custody Checklist

Content: As each item is carefully collected, it should be marked with a unique identifying number to allow you to locate and track that item. An example in Smith's case might be “06 Smith A 1.1,” where 06 refers to the year, Smith is the name of the investigation, A refers to items related to his computer system, the first 1 is the group of peripherals and the second 1 is the number for the monitor. The person collecting this item should initial or sign and date the item so that when authenticating it in court, he can explain that he knows this is the monitor he collected from Smith's office because it has the evidence label that includes his handwritten signature and the date it was collected. The evidence number for all items is recorded on the evidence log, and a record is created of every person who handles that evidence. Those individuals should also be prepared to testify about how they stored the evidence. The record is kept until after the investigation or court proceedings, when the evidence is no longer needed and is not required to be maintained. The proponent of an item of evidence also must be able to establish that the evidence is in substantially the same condition as it was when it was taken into custody. “Because digital evidence is more susceptible to intentional or inadvertent alteration or destruction than many forms of evidence, it is critical that a witness be able to offer evidence upon which the judge can conclude that the data is in substantially the same condition as when it was seized,” explains Patrick Zeller, a former high-tech prosecutor and litigator who is now assistant general counsel for Guidance Software, a Pasadena, Calif., computer forensics software developer. Critical areas for establishing this aspect of authenticity include confirming that there are no missing links in the chain of custody; detailing how your storage facility is inaccessible to unauthorized individuals and has proper climate and environment controls;