Best Practices for Digital Evidence Management

Digital evidence mana is quite crucial for the law enforcement agencies

Evidence plays a crucial role in the criminal justice system and various other businesses that may hold internal investigations for one reason or another. While most pieces of evidence in the past were physical in nature, digital evidence is very prevalent today. A ton of data out there can be analyzed and used as evidence, and it needs to be preserved as best as possible.

Keeping digital evidence secure isn't as easy as putting something in a box or bag and locking it up. If you want to keep it safe and sound, you need to take digital evidence management seriously. This article will go over a few best practices for successful and secure digital evidence management.

Have the Right System in Place

The first thing to think about is ensuring that your digital evidence management system is high quality. An example of a great system to consider is Clearance by Genetec. These systems make it easy to centralize your evidence, make it easier and more secure to share data, and generally help you keep everything organized.

Also, audit your system often to make sure it accommodates all devices and new forms of storage. Technology advances incredibly quickly, and there are always new best practices being discovered, so keep that in mind.

Trying to do this all without a system that simplifies and centralizes things will become incredibly challenging and will make it nearly impossible to keep things in order. Disorganized evidence can lead to a lot of problems down the road, so it is best to avoid it altogether.

Ensure You Maintain a Clear Chain of Custody

Another very important part of successful digital evidence management is having a clear chain of custody. Your chain of custody is essentially chronological documentation of the handling, collection, and analysis of evidence. These records should be immaculate, and you should be able to easily search who has interacted with a piece of evidence and when it took place.

If you can't clearly show who was in possession of evidence at what time, it can often prevent evidence from being useful in a case. While recording this chain of custody on paper is fine, you likely want it digitally, as well.

Whether you are dealing with video evidence management or anything else, you need to ensure every contact someone has had with the evidence is recorded.

Secure Devices and Keep Things Isolated Digitally

Today, much of the digital evidence that organizations have is found on devices like cell phones, tablets, and computers. Because of this, you need to ensure that all devices that contain evidence are kept secure. Only authorized individuals should have access to them, and this goes for software and hardware systems.

In addition to keeping devices secure and safe, you also need to keep things digitally isolated. If the device is connected to the Internet (via Wi-Fi or cable) or another device, it could be a disaster.

There is a lot of human error regarding data, and you don't want someone to accidentally delete or copy something that messes with the metadata you are trying to preserve. It is best to keep the device offline and only allow those who specialize in dealing with data to do so.

Ensuring Your Digital Evidence Is Safe and Sound

It's a good idea to have the right system, maintain a chain of custody, and keep devices secure and isolated. By keeping these practices in mind, organizations and departments can ensure their digital evidence is safe and managed correctly.