What is chain-of-custody in digital evidence handling?

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Chain-of-custody is the documented, unbroken trail of who has handled digital evidence, when it was touched, where it has been stored or transported, and how its integrity was preserved from collection to presentation. This means every transfer or access is logged, seals or tamper-evident measures are used, and integrity checks (like hash values) are performed and recorded so the evidence remains authentic and admissible in court. The goal is to prevent tampering, loss, or questions about authenticity by showing a clear chain from seizure through analysis to courtroom use. For example, when a hard drive is collected, its hash is recorded, it’s placed in secure storage, and any later imaging or copying is logged with who performed it, when, and under what conditions. This is why the correct choice describes documentation and procedures that maintain evidence integrity throughout the process. It isn’t about compressing files, a hardware component, or anonymizing data.