Aloha All,

Found the following definition of hashing on Whatis.com:
Hashing is the transformation of a string of characters into a usually
shorter fixed-length value or key that represents the original string.
Hashing is used to index and retrieve items in a database because it is
faster to find the item using the shorter hashed key than to find it
using the original value. It is also used in many encryption algorithms.

Hashing is a key issue in "authenticating" unstructured data/content,
without hashing you are left to prove that an image has not been altered
or tampered.  It is a significant feature of "content addressible
storage" versus the typical "worm" storage.  Important distinction here
is that you can have WORM storage, but not necessarily have any "hash".

It will be a challenge for third party recordkeepers whenever electronic
content is produced in court and will be a topic of consideration
whenever computer forensics come into play...

Mahalo,

Brian

***The thoughts expressed are simply "my own" and not representative of
my employer, ARMA International or any other entity.*** 


Brian A. Moriki
Assistant Vice-President & Manager
OSD - Records Management Department
First Hawaiian Bank
P.O. Box 1959
Honolulu, HI 96805
808-844-3056
808-844-3953 (fax)
email: [log in to unmask] 

-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Roach, Bill
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 7:33 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Chain of Custody?

>>"Who is doing anything with document hash values (or anything of the 
>>sort) to validate that a document as declared hasn't changed over time

>>to be able to prove later that it is the same, unaltered document?"<<

Based on experience, I would not try to use it for this purpose.  First,
what happens if only some of the documents you are required to produce
are hashed.  The obvious inference is documents without the hash are
suspect.  If so, you will likely have the uncomfortable task of trying
to prove the defensibility of the unhashed documents and the basis for
the business decision for hashing only some of the content.  Without the
hash, the issue will most likely never be raised.

The second issue has to do selection of technology.  Given scant
resources, why would an organization invest in a hashing technology when
the only benefit is defensibility during legal actions.  The same
results can come from a properly deployed and managed ECM solution which
provides a number of additional advantages to the company.  ECM improves
employee productivity, reduces duplication, improves access to
information, in addition to providing defensibility data.

Bill Roach, CRM

Opinions are my own and not those of my employer or any other entity.

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