Safeguarding the evidential value of forensic cryptocurrency investigations

【Author】 Froewis, Michael; Gottschalk, Thilo; Haslhofer, Bernhard; Rueckert, Christian; Pesch, Paulina

【Source】FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL-DIGITAL INVESTIGATION

【影响因子】1.805

【Abstract】Analyzing cryptocurrency payment flows has become a key forensic method in law enforcement and is nowadays used to investigate a wide spectrum of criminal activities. However, despite its widespread adoption, the evidential value of obtained findings in court is still largely unclear. In this paper, we focus on the key ingredients of modern cryptocurrency analytics techniques, which are clustering heuristics and attribution tags. We identify internationally accepted standards and rules for substantiating suspi- cions and providing evidence in court and project them onto current cryptocurrency forensics practices. By providing an empirical analysis of CoinJoin transactions, we illustrate possible sources of misinter- pretation in algorithmic clustering heuristics. Eventually, we derive a set of legal key requirements and translate them into a technical data sharing framework that fosters compliance with existing legal and technical standards in the realm of cryptocurrency forensics. Integrating the proposed framework in modern cryptocurrency analytics tools could allow more ef ficient and effective investigations, while safeguarding the evidential value of the analysis and the fundamental rights of affected persons. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY -NC -ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

【Keywords】Digital forensics; Cryptocurrencies; Digital evidence; Safeguards; Legal

【发表时间】2020 JUN

【收录时间】2022-01-02

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