Episode 36 — Preserve Digital Evidence and Maintain Chain of Custody
Proper evidence handling determines whether findings hold up under legal or disciplinary review, and the SSCP exam regularly checks understanding of this process. This episode explains what constitutes digital evidence, the principles of admissibility, and the importance of maintaining integrity from collection to presentation. You’ll learn about hash verification, write-blocking, time synchronization, and documentation that captures who collected, transferred, analyzed, and stored each item. We also cover volatile versus nonvolatile data, the order of volatility during live response, and the need for clear labeling and storage conditions that prevent contamination or loss.
We turn those principles into step-by-step reasoning. Examples include imaging drives with hash comparison before and after acquisition, exporting logs with signatures and timestamps, and sealing evidence bags with tamper-evident materials. We discuss maintaining audit trails, using case management systems to record custody events, and storing backups of critical artifacts in secure, access-controlled repositories. Troubleshooting sections highlight common errors such as incomplete chain-of-custody forms, unlogged transfers, or use of untrusted tools that alter timestamps. You’ll leave with a solid grasp of how to recognize and preserve digital evidence credibly—skills that both satisfy exam questions and underpin professional investigations where trust in the evidence defines the outcome. Produced by BareMetalCyber.com, where you’ll find more cyber audio courses, books, and information to strengthen your educational path. Also, if you want to stay up to date with the latest news, visit DailyCyber.News for a newsletter you can use, and a daily podcast you can commute with.
