In digital forensics, investigators must preserve evidence integrity and demonstrate an unbroken chain of custody. Creating a cryptographic hash (such as SHA-256) of the original drive and then hashing the forensic bitstream image provides a strong mathematical assurance that the copy is an exact, bit-for-bit replica. Because secure hash functions are designed so that any tiny change in data produces a dramatically different digest, matching hashes indicate the image contains identical data to the source at the time of acquisition. This is critical in legal and investigative contexts: analysis is performed on the copy, not the original, to avoid altering evidence. If the hashes match, the investigator can testify that the evidence examined is identical to what was collected, supporting admissibility and credibility. Hashing does not prove who created files, nor does it directly show whether someone “opened the drive”; it specifically validates the integrity and equivalence of the captured image. Therefore, hashing both artifacts is done to verify that the original and the bitstream copy are identical.