Maintaining integrity in a forensic investigation means ensuring evidence remains in its original, untampered state and that you can prove who handled it, when, and what was done to it. That is exactly what chain of custody provides. Mike Meyers’ Lab Manual defines chain of custody as an “end-to-end process” that establishes “a continuous accounting of where the evidence is at all times, who has possessed it, what activities were performed on it, and the details of its storage, use, and transfer.” It explicitly states this process “helps to ensure the integrity of evidence and minimizes the possibility that it has been altered or tampered with,” and it contributes to the admissibility and value of evidence in court.

The All-in-One Exam Guide provides the same explanation and ties chain of custody to accountability for “data integrity… and data preservation,” documenting possession and activities performed on evidence from collection through transfer. Acceptable use policy is a rules document, compliance requirements define obligations, and an after-action report summarizes events afterward—none of these directly preserve and prove evidence integrity throughout handling like chain of custody does.