Is dashcam forensics possible..?

Hello. I am a digital forensics attorney at Daeryun Law LLC.

Whether dashcam forensics is possible varies depending on the dashcam's storage structure and the circumstances of the deletion·damage.

Dashcam footage often loses some segments for reasons such as the impact of the accident, a power cutoff, a memory error, or overwriting, and in this case, although verification is difficult by playback alone, it can be approached by analyzing the data itself through a digital forensics procedure.

When an investigative agency or a court determines the necessity of dashcam forensics, it comprehensively reviews the following factors.

- Whether the dashcam's original storage medium (such as the SD card) has been preserved

- Whether the point at which the footage was deleted·damaged is temporally related to the time around the accident

- Whether there are traces of artificial deletion·manipulation

- Whether, by the nature of the dashcam device, it has an automatic deletion·overwriting structure

- Whether the forensics is conducted with the originality·integrity maintained

Therefore, the mere fact that only part of the footage remains or that a particular segment is missing does not immediately negate its admissibility as evidence or lead to a conclusion of manipulation.

The main matters that can be confirmed through dashcam forensics are as follows.

- The possibility of recovering deleted video data

- Analysis of the time information of file creation·modification·deletion

- Verification of traces of external device connection and arbitrary manipulation

- Whether the missing footage is due to a device defect or an automatic deletion structure

In particular, where the credibility of dashcam footage becomes an issue in traffic accident disputes, insurance disputes, or criminal cases, the forensic results can have strong evidentiary value.

However, you should also be careful that, if incorrect measures are taken during the dashcam forensics process, it may instead operate to your disadvantage.

- Where the original storage medium is arbitrarily opened or played

- Where integrity is compromised during the copying process

- Where the forensic procedure is not objectively proven

In such cases, there is also the possibility of being met with claims of evidence manipulation and destruction from the other party, so if dashcam forensics is needed, it is advisable to respond in the following order.

1. Immediately preserve the dashcam's original storage medium

2. Stop arbitrary manipulation·playback and organize the usage history

3. Conduct a preliminary review of whether digital forensics is possible

4. Establish a strategy for using the evidence at the investigation·litigation stage

If the dashcam footage is a matter that becomes the key issue in the dispute, you should first check whether it is in a state that can legally serve as evidence.

Our firm, in collaboration with its Digital Forensics Center, supports digital forensics advisory, including dashcam forensics, and, on that basis, responses to criminal·civil·traffic accident disputes.

We recommend that you have a review conducted by a digital forensics expert from the stage before the investigation or dispute begins in earnest.