ACPO Principles
It is essential that all actions undertaken correspond to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) best practice guidelines for computer based evidence. The four principles are detailed below. In order for the computer forensic investigation to comply with these good practice guidelines, it is essential that the internal actions within the company do not compromise these principles.
Principle 1:No action taken by law enforcement agencies or their agents should change data held on a computer or storage media which may subsequently be relied upon in court.
Principle 2:In circumstances where a person finds it necessary to access original data held on a computer or on storage media, that person must be competent to do so and be able to give evidence explaining the relevance and the implications of their actions.
Principle 3:An audit trail or other record of all processes applied to computer-based electronic evidence should be created and preserved. An independent third party should be able to examine those processes and achieve the same result.
Principle 4:The person in charge of the investigation (the case officer) has overall responsibility for ensuring that the law and these principles are adhered to.