How blockchain can improve digital evidence collection and collaboration

MR.Cole_Photographer/Getty Images

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Blockchain offers an immutable chain of custody that guarantees data integrity, prevents fraud and provides a transparent, auditable system of record for digital assets related to investigations.

There is a global need to address unique challenges posed by the growing mountain of digital evidence now comprising the bulk of many criminal and civil cases. Evidence management professionals and forensic investigators have been adapting the rigorous processes of evidence handling born in the world of atoms (physical evidence) into the world of ever-increasing bits (digital evidence).  

Digital evidence management systems (DEMS) give justice agencies electronic collection, identification and validation of digital information for the purpose of reconstructing events from the past.

The current state of digital evidence management

An audit of the current state of DEMS software shows just how far the extraction and collection stage of the evidence lifecycle has come—we can now extract millions of data points from devices using advanced algorithms. However, the other end of the evidence lifecycle process—management, storage and sharing of extracted digital assets—is limited and often delegated to the classic spreadsheet approach to storing information. 

The federal government has been aware of the need to step up its efforts in this arena at least since 2015, when the Rand Corp. published a paper outlining the U.S. criminal justice system’s deficiencies in acquiring and utilizing digital evidence.      

An organization that relies on spreadsheets instead of modern software is prone to security and efficiency issues, especially given the stringent nonrepudiation and security features available on DEMS platforms.

Solving for digital nonrepudiation

Paramount to digital-evidence management systems is nonrepudiation—cryptographic proof that an action regarding data either occurred or did not occur. Examples include who accessed information and when, and who might have altered data and how. 

Spreadsheets do not provide this functionality. Law enforcement agencies may be able to cryptographically-seal documents and store the “hashes” in a simple spreadsheet, but this is certainly not a scalable or sensible approach for modern digital evidence management. In order to authenticate digital evidence today, prosecutors and court administrators rely upon third-party notary organizations to validate these digital assets. 

But what if an emerging technology—one that is tailor-made for secure sharing and non-repudiation—could digitally secure and validate digital evidence? It would also provide trust, transparency and impartiality within the chain of custody through the forensic workflow. Plus, it would avoid the third-party notary, speeding up case proceedings while lowering administrative costs.

A path forward: Blockchain databases for secure storage, management and sharing

Blockchain technology has the potential to secure digital evidence from the point of ingestion, through review and to the creation of reports. Unlike a centralized database, decentralized networks that use blockchain technology offer an immutable chain of custody with nonrepudiation as an inherent component of the system. That guarantees data integrity, prevents fraud and provides a transparent, auditable system of record for digital assets related to investigations. 

Blockchain creates cryptographic hashes that can confirm the authenticity of any exported evidential report and prove the chain of custody of digital evidence throughout its lifecycle. Law enforcement agencies that adopt blockchain technology as their DEMS data store can also securely share evidence while also ensuring it has not been tampered with or available to unauthorized parties. This could ensure a fair legal process and combat digital evidence tampering from malicious actors. 

Bullish on blockchain

Advocates of digital-evidence management systems relying on blockchain technology have gained momentum in recent years.  Vermont, Arizona and Ohio have already introduced laws that accept blockchain records that are secured with electronic signatures in a court of law.

In 2021, researchers published a paper in the peer-reviewed journal “Future Generation Computer Systems,” outlining “a blockchain-based lawful evidence management scheme for digital forensics” called LEChain. The researchers discussed proposals to use cloud computing and blockchain technology for the creation of evidence that is transparent, unable to be forged and is able to be audited and verified. 

Another group of researchers published a paper last year in the peer-reviewed journal “Sensors” that underscores weaknesses of a centralized digital-evidence management system. The authors pointed out: “If a centralized system server is attacked, major operations and investigation information may be leaked.”

The authors posited a distributed system employing blockchain technology is the best way to avoid that possibility. These researchers acknowledged performance degradation could exist when big chunks of data, like videos, are stored in a blockchain. They proposed a two-tier blockchain system with “hot” and “cold” blockchains. Hot blockchains would be used for parts of criminal investigations that change frequently during evidence gathering. Cold blockchains would be used for evidence that doesn’t change, such as stored videos.

 The second inning

That sophisticated blockchain-based DEMS remain largely in the sphere of academia demonstrates how far this technology has to go before widespread adoption.

Still, the companies and organizations working to develop and implement blockchain solutions to digital-evidence management obstacles ultimately will be those that thrive. Part of the reason is that blockchain technology is the only type that covers all the bases of information assurance: availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality and nonrepudiation.

The availability of a purpose-built, cryptographically provable database adds a key piece of enabling technology to the arsenal for professionals building and deploying DEMS around the world.

Buck Flannigan is vice president and Kevin Doubleday is communications director at Fluree PBC.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.