Decentralized Forensic Evidence Tracking using Blockchain and Smart Contracts

Abstract

Abstract - The rise of digital technology has led to an increase in cybercrime. This has made the management of digital forensic evidence more complicated. Traditional evidence management systems utilize manual methods and centralized databases. Methods like these are vulnerable to data tampering, unauthorized access, and human error. These issues threaten the integrity of the evidence and the chain of custody during the investigation process. In this paper, we introduce a system that utilizes blockchain technology, smart contracts, and a decentralized system for the tracking of forensic evidence. Security and transparency will be guaranteed. In our system, evidence records are stored as ERC-721 Non-Fungible Tokens. A private Ethereum blockchain was developed using Ganache and combined with wallet-based authentication and Role-Based Access Control to ensure that only authorized personnel have the ability to view and manage evidence. Smart contracts facilitate the registration, verification, transfer, and auditing of evidence, thus, considerably reducing the manual work and greatly increasing the trustworthiness of the system. We proposed a hybrid system of storage whereby evidence and its forensic files are stored off chain, and the evidence metadata and its forensic files are stored on chain. This paper presents the design and architecture of the system,implementation and evaluation are in progress.Our system will be a trusted, efficient, and effective system of evidence management.