Potential applicability of blockchain technology in the maintenance of chain of custody in forensic casework
Abstract Background Proper investigation of digital evidence is of prime significance in cyber investigations. From the collection of evidence, its preservation, and its analysis, it is important to maintain its integrity in the legal system due to the involvement of different stakeholders like law...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41935-023-00383-w |
| _version_ | 1797273386844422144 |
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| author | Harsh Patil Ravshish Kaur Kohli Sorabh Puri Pooja Puri |
| author_facet | Harsh Patil Ravshish Kaur Kohli Sorabh Puri Pooja Puri |
| author_sort | Harsh Patil |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Proper investigation of digital evidence is of prime significance in cyber investigations. From the collection of evidence, its preservation, and its analysis, it is important to maintain its integrity in the legal system due to the involvement of different stakeholders like law enforcement agencies, digital analysts, and the judiciary. This review paper focuses on how blockchain technology can be used to collect evidence efficiently. Main text In the present scenario, the manual logs of the chain of custody are used to ensure that the evidence remains confidential and transparent. It is accompanied by filling out the application forms and maintaining logs within the organization handling the evidence. Hence, it is important to ensure the validity, integrity, and verifiability of evidence as it moves through different hierarchical levels. There are certain issues associated with the current chain of custody, such as evidence loss, theft, tampering, and, even worse, evidence manipulation inside the system. To avoid this situation and to make the process coherent, this review paper aims to highlight the potential use of blockchain technology to preserve chain of custody. Conclusion Although this scientific technology is mainly used to run cryptocurrencies, with careful consideration and application, this could play a key role in supporting and managing the chain of custody. It is a distributed database that keeps track of blocks. These blocks are collection of entries that keep growing continually and are secured from editing and manipulation by retaining the hash of the previous block in the chain. This is a decentralized technology that is not easily compromised in terms of security and therefore has the potential to solve our problem area. A future research agenda needs to be established, which lays the solid foundation for further studies on this evident emerging area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:43:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-655cc4415a854089a0e844bb4da6cf94 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2090-5939 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:43:38Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-655cc4415a854089a0e844bb4da6cf942024-03-05T20:08:06ZengSpringerOpenEgyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences2090-59392024-01-011411910.1186/s41935-023-00383-wPotential applicability of blockchain technology in the maintenance of chain of custody in forensic caseworkHarsh Patil0Ravshish Kaur Kohli1Sorabh Puri2Pooja Puri3Amity Institute of Forensic Sciences, Amity UniversityAmity Institute of Forensic Sciences, Amity UniversityNSI, Orange Business ServicesAmity Institute of Forensic Sciences, Amity UniversityAbstract Background Proper investigation of digital evidence is of prime significance in cyber investigations. From the collection of evidence, its preservation, and its analysis, it is important to maintain its integrity in the legal system due to the involvement of different stakeholders like law enforcement agencies, digital analysts, and the judiciary. This review paper focuses on how blockchain technology can be used to collect evidence efficiently. Main text In the present scenario, the manual logs of the chain of custody are used to ensure that the evidence remains confidential and transparent. It is accompanied by filling out the application forms and maintaining logs within the organization handling the evidence. Hence, it is important to ensure the validity, integrity, and verifiability of evidence as it moves through different hierarchical levels. There are certain issues associated with the current chain of custody, such as evidence loss, theft, tampering, and, even worse, evidence manipulation inside the system. To avoid this situation and to make the process coherent, this review paper aims to highlight the potential use of blockchain technology to preserve chain of custody. Conclusion Although this scientific technology is mainly used to run cryptocurrencies, with careful consideration and application, this could play a key role in supporting and managing the chain of custody. It is a distributed database that keeps track of blocks. These blocks are collection of entries that keep growing continually and are secured from editing and manipulation by retaining the hash of the previous block in the chain. This is a decentralized technology that is not easily compromised in terms of security and therefore has the potential to solve our problem area. A future research agenda needs to be established, which lays the solid foundation for further studies on this evident emerging area.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41935-023-00383-wBlockchainChain of custodyCyber securityDigital evidenceDecentralized technologyEncryption |
| spellingShingle | Harsh Patil Ravshish Kaur Kohli Sorabh Puri Pooja Puri Potential applicability of blockchain technology in the maintenance of chain of custody in forensic casework Egyptian Journal of Forensic Sciences Blockchain Chain of custody Cyber security Digital evidence Decentralized technology Encryption |
| title | Potential applicability of blockchain technology in the maintenance of chain of custody in forensic casework |
| title_full | Potential applicability of blockchain technology in the maintenance of chain of custody in forensic casework |
| title_fullStr | Potential applicability of blockchain technology in the maintenance of chain of custody in forensic casework |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential applicability of blockchain technology in the maintenance of chain of custody in forensic casework |
| title_short | Potential applicability of blockchain technology in the maintenance of chain of custody in forensic casework |
| title_sort | potential applicability of blockchain technology in the maintenance of chain of custody in forensic casework |
| topic | Blockchain Chain of custody Cyber security Digital evidence Decentralized technology Encryption |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41935-023-00383-w |
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