Secure digital chains of evidence

Computers, mobile phones, embedded devices and other components of IT systems can often be easily manipulated. Therefore, in forensic use of digital evidence it is necessary to carefully check that the probative force of the evidence is sufficient. For applications where critical processes can lead to disputes and resolving disputed relies on digital evidence one open question is how to build the system in a way that secure digital evidence is available. This paper introduces the notion of secure digital chains of evidence and proposes a high-level architecture for systems that can provide such chains of evidence. Finally, possible building blocks are explored for the realisation of a distributed and heterogeneous system with support for secure digital chains of evidence.