Method and apparatus for controlling digital evidence

1. A computer-implemented method for managing a chain of custody of digital evidence, the method comprising:

receiving a digital evidence item;

storing the digital evidence item in at least one host computer;

creating a clone of the digital evidence item and a cryptographic hash of the clone;

initializing a chain of custody for the digital evidence item, the chain of custody comprising a set of entities that interact with the digital evidence item;

providing a chain-of-custody user interface (UI) for presenting the digital evidence item, the at least one host computer where the digital evidence item is stored, and the entities that have interacted with the digital evidence item;

detecting access by a first entity to the digital evidence item;

determining if the digital evidence item has been tampered after the access based on the digital evidence item and the cryptographic hash of the clone; and

presenting, in the chain-of-custody UI, information about the access of the first entity to the digital evidence item, the presented information comprising a status about the access regarding tampering of the digital evidence item, the chain of custody for the digital evidence item, and the cryptographic hash of the clone,

wherein the chain of custody output identifies the digital evidence item, the at least one host computer where the digital evidence item is stored, and the identification of the entities that have interacted with the digital evidence item,

wherein the cryptographic hash is presented as altered if the first entity has tampered with the digital evidence item but is presented as unaltered if the first entity has not tampered with the digital evidence item.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

creating a case record comprising information about an investigative case associated with the digital evidence item.

3. The method as recited in claim 2 , further comprising:

providing a case-information UI for presenting information of the case record about the investigative case.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

providing a host-information UI comprising a host-information window and an evidence-list window, the host-information window presenting at least one host computer storing the digital evidence item, the evidence-list window presenting digital evidence items stored on the at least one host computer.

5. The method as recited in claim 4 , wherein the host-information UI provides an option for establishing a role from a plurality of roles for each person with permission to access a case record, each role defining from the plurality of roles identifying a level of access for the person.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

providing an evidence-information UI for presenting evidence information, clone information, and storage location for the clone and the cryptographic hash of the clone.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

maintaining an authenticity of the digital evidence item while allowing access to the digital evidence item without interfering with the authenticity of the digital evidence item.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

creating a timeline with a sequence of events occurring during an investigation involving the digital evidence item.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:

providing a cost-information UI for entering cost information for a case record.

10. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the digital evidence item is selected from a group comprising a media file, a log file, a network dump file, a document file, or a folder of files.

11. A system comprising:

a memory comprising instructions; and

one or more computer processors, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising:

receiving a digital evidence item;

storing the digital evidence item in at least one host computer;

creating a clone of the digital evidence item and a cryptographic hash of the clone;

initializing a chain of custody for the digital evidence item, the chain of custody comprising a set of entities that interact with the digital evidence item;

providing a chain-of-custody user interface (UI) for presenting the digital evidence item, the at least one host computer where the digital evidence item is stored, and the entities that have interacted with the digital evidence item;

detecting access by a first entity to the digital evidence item;

determining if the digital evidence item has been tampered after the access based on the digital evidence item and the cryptographic hash of the clone; and

presenting, in the chain-of-custody UI, information about the access of the first entity to the digital evidence item, the presented information comprising a status about the access regarding tampering of the digital evidence item, the chain of custody for the digital evidence item, and the cryptographic hash of the clone,

wherein the chain of custody output identifies the digital evidence item, the at least one host computer where the digital evidence item is stored, and the identification of the entities that have interacted with the digital evidence item,

wherein the cryptographic hash is presented as altered if the first entity has tampered with the digital evidence item but is presented as unaltered if the first entity has not tampered with the digital evidence item.

12. The system as recited in claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:

creating a case record comprising information about an investigative case associated with the digital evidence item.

13. The system as recited in claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:

providing a case-information UI for presenting information of the case record about the investigative case.

14. The system as recited in claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:

providing a host-information UI comprising a host-information window and an evidence-list window, the host-information window presenting at least one host computer storing the digital evidence item, the evidence-list window presenting digital evidence items stored on the at least one host computer.

15. The system as recited in claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:

providing an evidence-information UI for presenting evidence information, clone information, and storage location for the clone and the cryptographic hash of the clone.

16. A tangible machine-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving a digital evidence item;

storing the digital evidence item in at least one host computer;

creating a clone of the digital evidence item and a cryptographic hash of the clone;

initializing a chain of custody for the digital evidence item, the chain of custody comprising a set of entities that interact with the digital evidence item;

providing a chain-of-custody user interface (UI) for presenting the digital evidence item, the at least one host computer where the digital evidence item is stored, and the entities that have interacted with the digital evidence item;

detecting access by a first entity to the digital evidence item;

determining if the digital evidence item has been tampered after the access based on the digital evidence item and the cryptographic hash of the clone; and

presenting, in the chain-of-custody UI, information about the access of the first entity to the digital evidence item, the presented information comprising a status about the access regarding tampering of the digital evidence item, the chain of custody for the digital evidence item, and the cryptographic hash of the clone,

wherein the chain of custody output identifies the digital evidence item, the at least one host computer where the digital evidence item is stored, and the identification of the entities that have interacted with the digital evidence item,

wherein the cryptographic hash is presented as altered if the first entity has tampered with the digital evidence item but is presented as unaltered if the first entity has not tampered with the digital evidence item.

17. The tangible machine-readable storage medium as recited in claim 16 , wherein the machine further performs operations comprising:

creating a case record comprising information about an investigative case associated with the digital evidence item.

18. The tangible machine-readable storage medium as recited in claim 17 , wherein the machine further performs operations comprising:

providing a case-information UI for presenting information of the case record about the investigative case.

19. The tangible machine-readable storage medium as recited in claim 16 , wherein the machine further performs operations comprising:

providing a host-information UI comprising a host-information window and an evidence-list window, the host-information window presenting at least one host computer storing the digital evidence item, the evidence-list window presenting digital evidence items stored on the at least one host computer.

20. The tangible machine-readable storage medium as recited in claim 16 , wherein the machine further performs operations comprising:

providing an evidence-information UI for presenting evidence information, clone information, and storage location for the clone and the cryptographic hash of the clone.