Regarding the Use of Digital Data in Court?

iChuckles asks: "Is there a way to make electronic data admissible in court? Can electronic data be used as an alibi? I want to keep an electronic journal, on my work, that is date and time stamped. This journal could be used to prove I came up with an idea on a certain date based upon an entry. Is there a database, or method of recording this data, in electronic form, that will stand up in court? Is there a database that once a record is entered with an accompanying time and date stamp, cannot be altered?"

Comments

External authorities

[denubis]

http://www.itconsult.co.uk/stamper.htm -- really, there comes a point where a trusted authority is just required. I know scientists just keep hand-written logbooks, and date each entry and keep it in pen. Nice and old-fashioned, the courts like it. Alternativly, if we don't want to go old-fashioned, you could sign your mails with the above service (but how do you prove that service can be trusted?)

Trust is a really nasty recursive problem. I'd just keep a paper logbook, and other records. It should work well enough.

Re:It's Heresay

[Anonymous Coward]

Computer data is considered heresay in court.

Not necessarily. Business records are specifically not considered hearsay, if they are generated in the "normal course of business" and not in anticipation of litigation. In the United States, anyway.

There's actually been a great thread...

[Blaise]

On the loganalysis mailing list.

It's covered everything from requirements for logs to be admitted, to the validity of using checksums.

It's also been archived on the log analysis website.

even better, we've had several lawyers in on the conversation who site actual case law.

for once the conversation doesn't need the standard IANAL.

Here's a link to the start of the thread
[Log] Log Archival

or for those who prefer a top down view:

Index of threads for december

oh, and here's a website by the ever excellent Tina Bird of counterpayne, as well as Marcus Ranum

Log Analysis

you can find all the info you need in the library off this site.

Trusted Authority + Cryptography

[oni]

Rather than keep the entire entry at the 3rd party, you'd encrypt it with your public key and allow the 3rd party to datestamp it and cryptographically sign it.

Then you keep the signature and datestamp yourself and the 3rd party never actually knows what the plain text was that it's just datestamped.

Only when it's used against you

[Webmoth]

In drug or child pr0n cases, digital data is often used as evidence against the defendant(s).