Project description
Gathering digital evidence to fight crime
Advanced technology is used by criminals to perform acts of fraud and terrorism, as well as industrial and intellectual property theft. Digital technology is also used in other crimes. In fact, the omnipresence of digital tools and their use in criminal activities makes digital evidence instrumental for criminal investigation. However, digital evidence is not always admissible in a court of law. The EU-funded LOCARD project aims to procure a comprehensive platform that permits the storage of digital evidence data and ensures appropriate chain custody in juridical work. LOCARD will employ a ‘Trusted Execution Environment’ to guarantee privacy and provide access to a range of digital evidence.
Objective
Digital evidence is currently an integral part of criminal investigations, and not confined to pure cybercrime cases. Criminal behaviours like financial frauds, intellectual property theft, industrial espionage, and terrorist networks leverage the Internet and cyberspace. The very ubiquity of digital devices, e.g. smartphones, in modern society makes digital evidence extremely relevant for investigations about all kinds of criminal behaviour like murder, contraband activities, and people smuggling, to name a few.
Due to its nature, the use of digital evidence in a court of law has always been challenging. It is critical that it should be accompanied by a proper chain of custody, guaranteeing its source and integrity.
LOCARD aims to provide a holistic platform for chain of custody assurance along the forensic workflow, a trusted distributed platform allowing the storage of digital evidence metadata in a blockchain.
Each node of LOCARD will be able to independently set its own permission policies and to selectively share access to digital evidence with other nodes when deemed necessary and upon proper authorization through fine-grained policies. LOCARD's modularity will also allow diverse actors to tailor the platform to their specific needs and role in the digital forensic workflow, from preparation and readiness, to collection, to analysis and reporting.
LOCARD will have a crowdsource module to collect citizen reports of selected violations, a crawler to detect and correlate online deviant behaviour, and a toolkit for investigators that will assist them in collecting online and offline evidence.
This will be powered by an immutable storage and an identity management system that will protect privacy and handle access to evidence data using a Trusted Execution Environment. Blockchain technology will not only guarantee that information about the evidence cannot be tampered with, but allow interoperability without the need for a trusted third party.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesinternet
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencescomputer securitycryptography
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsmobile phones
- social scienceslawcriminology
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.7. - Secure societies - Protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.7.1. - Fight crime, illegal trafficking and terrorism, including understanding and tackling terrorist ideas and beliefs
- H2020-EU.3.7.8. - Support the Union's external security policies including through conflict prevention and peace-building
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
151 25 Maroussi
Greece
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Participants (22)
Participation ended
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08028 Barcelona
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1612 SOFIA
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
152 32 CHALANDRI ATHENS
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
15233 Chalandri
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
35122 Padova
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28050 MADRID
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
28050 Madrid
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1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
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Participation ended
2413 Nicosia
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1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
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9250 Waasmunster
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1017 Lefkosia
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
2080 MSIDA
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10177 Athina
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
10623 Berlin
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7491 Trondheim
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101 77 Athens
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020123 Bucuresti
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80539 Munchen
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Participation ended
36010 Monticello Conte Otto Vi
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
14122 ATHENS
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.