Evidence Collection and Forensics Policy

The Evidence Collection and Forensics Policy (P31) establishes a structured, legally defensible framework to manage the identification, collection, preservation, analysis, and disposal of digital evidence in cases of actual or suspected security incidents. Its central aim is to ensure forensic readiness while maintaining integrity and admissibility of evidence for internal investigations, legal proceedings, or regulatory compliance. The policy’s comprehensive scope applies to all staff, contractors, vendors, and service providers involved in system administration or investigative activities and governs endpoints, servers, networks, cloud platforms, and any incident necessitating evidence handling, including insider threats, misuse, operational technology incidents, and physical-digital asset violations. Key objectives underscore the rapid and secure acquisition of evidence, rigorous preservation of evidentiary integrity, and strict documentation, including chain of custody, to meet both legal and regulatory obligations. Forensic activities are closely tied with post-incident analysis and control improvements, integrating seamlessly into the overarching Information Security Management System (ISMS). Responsibilities for the CISO, forensic analysts, IT administrators, legal and compliance officers, HR, and audit functions are delineated to safeguard legal defensibility and transparency at every stage of an incident. The policy mandates several governance requirements, including the maintenance of a formal Forensic Readiness Program. This program defines trigger criteria for evidence collection, escalation paths, toolsets approved for forensic use, and emphasizes the documentation and reporting standards to guide all activities. All evidence-handling activities must adhere to internationally accepted forensic standards, such as ISO/IEC 27035 for incident handling, NIST SP 800-86 for forensic planning, and NIST SP 800-101 Rev.1 for media forensics. The policy requires a Forensic Toolkit Register and demands that evidence is securely acquired, labeled, stored with integrity checks, and that all movements are logged in a signed chain-of-custody log. Policy implementation requirements prescribe detailed procedures for evidence acquisition (using write-blockers and validated tools), system isolation, log and metadata collection (ensuring time synchronization for timeline consistency), and secure, isolated environments for forensic analysis. Data protection measures necessitate strict GDPR alignment when evidence involves personal data, including access control, encryption, and clear documentation of collection rationale. Evidence retention is governed by legal or contractual requirements, and secure disposal must adhere to the Data Retention and Disposal Policy (P14). Risk treatment and exception processes are also described, with specific requirements for documenting, submitting, and approving exceptions, especially where evidence cannot be handled as per standard procedures. Compliance monitoring, periodic audits, policy integration with incident response (P30), as well as enforcement through disciplinary or legal action, underpin the policy’s effectiveness. The review process is formalized annually and upon critical incidents. The policy is aligned with international frameworks including ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO/IEC 27002:2022, NIST SP 800-53 and 800-101, COBIT 2019, the EU GDPR, NIS2, and DORA.