Secure Data Handling & Digital Forensics Policy

Protecting confidentiality, integrity, authenticity and evidential value throughout a forensic engagement.

Operational policy summary for the website. Detailed internal SOPs, evidence forms and retention schedules should be maintained separately.

1. Purpose

This policy establishes Hackabby's principles for securely acquiring, handling, storing, analysing, transferring, retaining and disposing of digital information and forensic evidence.

2. Core principles

Legality: evidence must be obtained under appropriate authority.
Integrity: evidence must be protected against unauthorised alteration.
Authenticity: source and acquisition context should be documented where appropriate.
Confidentiality: access is limited to authorised persons.
Accountability: material handling activities should be traceable.

3. Authority to investigate

Hackabby conducts forensic investigations only where appropriate client, system-owner, contractual, judicial or lawful authority exists.

4. Evidence acquisition and preservation

Where appropriate, acquisition records may document case reference, evidence identifier, source device, custodian, date and time, investigator, methodology, storage location and integrity-verification information. Original evidence should be preserved where technically practical and analysis performed on controlled working copies.

5. Chain of custody

Material digital evidence may be accompanied by chain-of-custody records documenting identifiers, source, acquisition, transfers, access, storage and final disposition.

6. Secure storage and transfer

Controls may include encrypted storage, strong authentication, least-privilege access, physical security, logging, secure backups, network segregation and approved secure transfer methods.

7. Personal information and relevance

Forensic investigations may expose information unrelated to the primary matter. Investigators should avoid unnecessary examination or disclosure of irrelevant personal information and keep activities proportionate to the authorised purpose.

8. Reporting

Forensic reports should distinguish observed facts, technical evidence, interpretation, assumptions, limitations and conclusions. Unsupported speculation should not be presented as established fact.

9. Retention and disposal

Evidence retention follows contractual, legal, litigation, investigation, regulatory and preservation requirements. When authorised and no longer required, information should be securely deleted, sanitised, destroyed or returned, with disposal documented where appropriate.

10. Our forensic commitment

Authorised. Preserved. Traceable. Defensible.