Chain of Custody in Forensic Investigations

D.

The correct answer is A. Make a forensic copy.

When conducting a digital forensic investigation, the chain of custody refers to the chronological documentation or paper trail that records the seizure, custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of physical or digital evidence. The chain of custody ensures the integrity of the evidence and its admissibility in a court of law.

The first step that the forensic expert needs to take in the chain of custody is to make a forensic copy of the hard drive. A forensic copy is an exact bit-for-bit replica of the original hard drive, and it is created using a write-blocker, a device that prevents any changes from being made to the original evidence during the copying process.

By creating a forensic copy, the forensic expert can work with the copy of the original evidence without altering the original data, ensuring that the original evidence is preserved in its original state. This is crucial in maintaining the chain of custody and ensuring the admissibility of the evidence in a court of law.

Once the forensic copy has been created, the forensic expert can then proceed to create a hash of the hard drive, recover the hard drive data, and update the evidence log, in that order.

Creating a hash of the hard drive involves generating a unique mathematical value that represents the contents of the hard drive, which can be used to verify the integrity of the data and ensure that it has not been tampered with.

Recovering the hard drive data involves analyzing the data on the forensic copy of the hard drive to extract any relevant evidence that may be useful in the investigation.

Finally, updating the evidence log involves documenting the entire chain of custody, including the creation of the forensic copy, the generation of the hash value, the recovery of the data, and any other actions taken during the investigation. This documentation is essential in ensuring the admissibility of the evidence in a court of law.