Digital integrity: Exploring digital evidence vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies for open source researchers

Abstract

Researchers working with digital evidence must be aware of its vulnerabilities if they hope to maximize its value for justice and accountability. In this paper, we highlight two important vulnerabilities: the impermanent nature of digital evidence, and its susceptibility to attack from online dis/misinformation campaigns. We argue that to overcome the challenge that the impermanent nature of digital evidence presents, researchers can implement rapid response archiving techniques that, while not as rigorous as protocols set out for the collection of evidence in legal cases, could leave them with digital breadcrumbs to aid with the recovery of deleted digital evidence. We further propose that researchers consider implementing a stance of radical transparency in the collection, synthesis, and presentation of digital evidence with the goal of fortifying it against dis/misinformation campaigns.