Chain of Custody
Part of the Cybersecurity Roadmap
In short
Evidence is only as good as its paper trail. Chain of custody records who touched it, when and why, so nobody can claim it was swapped or faked.
Documenting exactly who handled evidence, when, and what was done to it — essential for evidence to hold up if an incident ever leads to legal action, and good practice even when it doesn't.
Think of it like this
The courier signature sheet
A valuable parcel is signed for at every handover: sender, each courier, final receiver, with time stamps. If anything goes missing, the sheet shows exactly where. Chain of custody is that signature sheet for every piece of evidence.
Watch it happen
Every handover is logged
1/4Evidence is collected. Note what it is, where from, who took it and the exact time.
The big ideas
What you need to know
Write down every touch
Who had it, when, and what they did. An unbroken record is what makes evidence believable.
Hash at each handover
Re-checking the hash when evidence changes hands proves it was not altered in between.
Control storage
Lock evidence away with restricted, logged access. Anyone who could have tampered with it weakens the case.
It can reach court
If an incident becomes a legal matter, a broken chain can throw out otherwise solid evidence.
Save yourself the pain
Common mistakes
Oops
Leaving a gap where nobody signed for the evidence.
Do this instead
A single unexplained gap lets anyone claim tampering. Record every handover with time, person and hash.
Oops
Storing evidence on a shared, open drive.
Do this instead
Keep it in controlled storage with logged access, so you can always show exactly who could reach it.
Your mission
Make a custody form
Quick check
What is the main purpose of a chain of custody record?
Go deeper
- 1Draft a simple chain of custody log template for a hypothetical piece of digital evidence.
- 2Learn why a broken chain of custody can render otherwise solid evidence inadmissible.
- 3Understand why this discipline matters even for internal-only investigations, as a good habit.
More topics at this stop
Incident Response Lifecycle
Incident Triage & Classification
Containment, Eradication & Recovery
Digital Forensics Fundamentals
Memory & Disk Forensics Basics
Malware Analysis Basics
Post-Incident Reporting
Tabletop Exercises
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