Securing and managing offline digital evidence with a smart data lease system

The system is used by both Producer and Consumer of digital evidence, which use the system to provide a secure and irrefutable record of a transaction involving the use of the digital evidence to produce new protected digital evidentiary content, e.g. transcription, according to a set of rules and limitations on the use of the digital evidence over a specific period of time which expires after a certain time. The newly create evidentiary content along with security and metadata are evaluated, and results used to confirm that the evidence has been maintained according to the terms and conditions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to securely managing digital evidence, and in particular to the secure processing of audio/visual recording into document transcripts when exchanging secure evidence between offline and online environments in the field of voice to document processing.

BACKGROUND

Digital evidence comes in many forms including audio, video, images, documents, and other media. Typically, the digital evidence or digital content needs to be moved in and then back out of secure content management platforms for processing. The initial processing may include uploading the digital content to a secure site from external fixed devices or a capture of events that occurred. For security, the digital content requires an audit trail, chain-of-custody, and/or a transcription to provide documented proof of the event depicted thereon. Often the devices capturing or processing the event are privately owned or owned by a third party. Today to retrieve that digital content requires numerous, laborious, and time-consuming processes to secure it legally. Simultaneously the chain-of-evidence must also be protected and documented so that when this digital content is used for evidentiary purposes it retains veracity. One of the unsolved problems associated with identifying, collecting, and processing all digital evidence related to an event is securing that digital evidence when it is authorized to be used offline as would be the case in producing a transcript from original and protected digital audio evidence or testimony. Providing authorized access to the digital content and maintaining auditable management of that content is difficult at best. Since this is a bi-directional process, those that create new digital content and those that must access the digital content for various authorized purposes may be classed into two types: the Producer who creates new digital evidence, and the Consumer who uses that digital evidence for an authorized purpose and under a specific set of limitations. Another complicating factor is that the Producer may be working on behalf of an original owner, e.g. who could be a customer of the Producer. The same problem applies to offline digital content that needs to be moved into a secure online evidence environment or case records.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, a first apparatus includes a Smart Data Lease application for Securing Offline Content which would run within a Evidence Management Cloud or Data Centre. The application forms the central core of the process for managing the movement and tracking of evidentiary content from inside a secure online environment to an offline environment and back.

Accordingly a method for providing secure access to digital content in accordance with an exemplary system comprises:storing, by a first processor, original digital evidence in a first block of a blockchain database, providing a secure record thereof;storing, by the first processor, first terms and conditions for a first consumer to access a first copy of the original digital evidence;providing the first terms and conditions to the first consumer for a first digital acceptance thereof, prior to the first copy of the original digital evidence being accessible;upon the first digital acceptance, generating, by the first processor, a first temporary secure data cache including the first copy of the original digital evidence and the first terms and conditions accessible by the first consumer;generating first audit details relating to interactions between the first consumer and the first copy of the original digital evidence related to maintaining veracity of the first copy of the original digital evidence; anddeleting, by the first processor, the first data cache including the first copy of the original digital evidence, after a first predetermined time period, in accordance with the first terms and conditions.

In another example a computing apparatus for providing secure access to digital content comprises:a first processor; anda first non-transitory memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the computing apparatus to:store original digital evidence in a first block of a blockchain database providing a secure record thereof;store first terms and conditions for a first consumer to access a first copy of the original digital evidence;provide the first terms and conditions to the first consumer for digital acceptance thereof, prior to the first copy of the original digital evidence being accessible;upon the digital acceptance, generate a first data cache including: the first copy of the digital evidence accessible by the first consumer, and the first the terms and conditions;generate first audit details relating to interactions between the first consumer and the first copy of the digital evidence related to maintaining veracity of the first copy of the digital evidence; anddelete the first data cache including the first copy of the digital evidence, after a predetermined time period, in accordance with the first terms and conditions.

In any of the above examples, the first apparatus may also include that a process for the exchange of digital signatures, a mechanism for writing proprietary Blocks to a specialized Blockchain and algorithms for the analyses and verification of the certain conditions for evidence release to authorized personnel. The apparatus cover the transition of evidence between content Producers' securely managed online environments, whether Cloud or Data Centre based and offline environments where destination content Consumers such as Transcribers use unknown computers with intermittent Internet connections to process evidence according to job descriptions contained in the Terms and Conditions outlined by the content Producer.

Accordingly, a second apparatus includes a Smart Data Lease program for the Consumers/Transcribers offline computing system to affect the completion of the Producer requested job. This application work with the evidence components and applets unpacked from the provided Block(s). This provides a secure local environment and the proprietary tools needed to work with the provided content but prevent there use by off-the-shelf applications which perform similar functions such as AV players.

In any of the above embodiments, the second apparatus may also include that components for reading and writing Blocks as well as proprietary working tools such as players and applets to examine local environment identifiers such as MAC number, IP addresses, ESN number or similar. Also these apparatus would include algorithms for producing a compressed audit trail tracking local environment events, errors, times, users, functions executed and so forth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the present teachings are described in conjunction with various embodiments and examples, it is not intended that the present teachings be limited to such embodiments. On the contrary, the present teachings encompass various alternatives and equivalents, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art.

Several professions, such as Justice, Insurance, Medical, Education and Police, investigate certain events that occur, and therefore need to find and/or record all the evidence related to each event, which typically exists across a multitude of devices and formats. Once that evidence has been identified the task of legally procuring or providing a copy begins, which may involve paperwork, judicial processes, documentation, setting up an agreement with owner, and obtaining the digital evidence. The reverse is also true when required to move evidentiary content outside of a secure environment. Moving digital content for evidentiary purposes whether into a secure and managed environment or moving out of a secure and managed environment presents similar issues. A problem inherent in the process of that procurement is that the Producer loses control over and/or confidence in the veracity of the content. Moreover many markets are also concerned with liability and privacy resulting from pre-emptive public release across various social or other types of media platforms.

In accordance with the present embodiment, the automatic generation of procurement, documentation, and chain-of-custody all while protecting the Producer's rights, may be achieved with some innovative use of a secure database, such as blockchain technology, extended with unique and important customizations. Secure databases, such as Blockchain, provide an immutable and secure method for permanently documenting transactions as they occur which may then certified my multiple parties. If the Blockchain's capabilities are extended with a set of rules or terms, then control under which circumstances the exchange of digital data takes place may be provided and communicated. Taken a step further the terms could represent an agreement or contract between the Producer, in this case the digital content owner, and the Consumer, the person or organization wishing to have access to that content for various legitimate reasons. Unlike digital rights or copyright, the material owned by the Producer is not sold, but rather access to the content is provided to predetermined secure users for a limited time frame and for a limited purpose. Conversely the Consumer is obliged to prevent the content from being provided to any other party or parties. The present invention provides a secure environment within which a secure and traceable exchange may take place which has an expiry date and limitations associated with the exchange. A transaction may occur which provides an immutable record of the exchange. In addition, each party has a fully vetted communication stream as the exchange progresses through the timeframe.

What is key to the exchange is that the Producer and the Consumer may not know each other and yet they need to have a “managed” and secured exchange take place that is authenticated by others for a chain-of-custody purposes.

The present disclosure aims to secure and streamline that process by providing a secure and immutable chain-of-custody for digital evidence. Moving digital content to or from a third-party environment is an important component of processing digital evidence, whether to secure that evidence or to permit additional processing of it to produce new content, such as a transcription. Moving digital evidence outside or into a secure repository needs to be performed with as much confidence as that evidence has when secured inside a digital management repository. In effect the present embodiment establishes a smart digital data lease design that manages and tracks the exchange of secure content to offline environments and any new content exchanged back.

When digital audio and/or video is captured as part of the evidence or testimony it is likely that it will be used to produce a verbatim transcript. Under the best circumstances this is done within a secure environment either online or within a secure network or secure Cloud. As the price of transcriptions is reduced, the cost of working within an online environment rises, and in the absence of locations where online environments available, a system for providing digital evidence for processing in an offline environment is required. This presents several problems the most critical being security of that evidence. In parallel, confidentiality needs to be assured and control of that content in terms of distribution, sharing or coping needs to be closely controlled even if offline. In addition, it is likely that new digital content may be produced, which may need to be exchanged back into an online secure environment. The solution provides for a mechanism to enable this online/offline exchange of content to be managed with the same level of control as if solely online.

To control that offline content with the same degree of assurance five aspects may need to be addressed: 1) Managing the authorized users use of that evidence; 2) Controlling what conditions are associated with that use; 3) Preventing unauthorized use to the extent possible; 4) Tracking and reporting the disposition of that evidence; and 5) Securely returning new content to Evidence.

Digital evidence or content may be captured in many formats and for many purposes. One example is the insurance market, which captures evidence or testimony as it relates to an insurance claim or an insurance claims process. Usually, the evidence would be a digital audio file, which in many cases will end up as a transcript supporting a liability position for a particular claim. Typically, a transcriber will listen to the audio record, and type the information verbatim and against a particular turnaround time using provided tools and online SaaS solutions. However, current transcribers require a lower cost solution to maintain a competitive edge. Some of those costs evolve around online costs, bandwidth usage, subscription fees and so on. With the innovation according to the present disclosure, the transcribers, when authorized, may take that evidentiary content offline and process it offline in a manner that enables the Producer to provide that access under certain terms and conditions. These terms and conditions might include parameters, such as file name, a digital signature, an amount of time during which they have certain types of access, e.g. read or play, restrictions on what they do with that file and automatic removal of all evidence when the expiry terms are reached. Part of the expiry process is the return to the source (Producer) of new content, e.g. in this case transcripts, to the origin. In this process, one of the Consumers may be creating new content.

The movement of evidence outside of or into a secure environment requires special precautions to be taken to protect that content for confidentiality, privacy, security, or other owner dictated terms. These precautions must be robust enough to ensure that the owner's security needs and continuity needs are assured. In addition, because legal evidence is being dealt with, that content must not be allowed to be otherwise compromised, distributed, or corrupted in anyway not authorized by the owner. The solution to this is to provide a proprietary mechanism for packaging, accessing, reading, and manipulating this content for a specified purpose and specified period of time and then returning newly created content while leaving no trace of the original content in the offline environment.

With reference toFIG.1, the diagram illustrates the flow of information back and forth between an evidentiary content management company (Producer), e.g. owner of system, a Client, and a Consumer, e.g. a transcriber. An exemplary process1may start with a request10to prepare a transcript of an audio recording using an offline environment. The request10may be provided to the Producer by a Client, and the request10may require a response comprising two primary components: the authenticated audio/video evidence2and the terms and conditions3that the Producer is prepared to provide a data lease under. The terms and conditions3may be encoded into an encrypted digital package as part of the Producer's data lease application. The present example process1involves a claim or a case in which some liability is being accessed to determine legal obligations. The Producers' Client, e.g. insurance company or police department, has identified that digital evidence2exists, and with the Producer assembles an agreement with rules, e.g. terms and conditions3, for exchanging access to that digital evidence2. The Producer assembles the digital evidence2, which may include one or more of data files, audio files, pictures, video files, metadata, applets for tracking, and audit data, etc. from whatever devices the digital evidence2originated, either directly or over a suitable network, and agrees upon the terms and conditions3of the storage and access of the digital evidence2with the Client.

Using a data lease system4, which may comprise computer software instructions5stored on non-transitory memory6that are executable by a processor7, the digital evidence2, preferably along with the agreement10, the terms and conditions3and other metadata used to track both source and destination criteria, may be encoded into one or more blocks8in a database on a Blockchain repository9. The metadata may include parameters, such as MAC address, IP, source, case #, date, location, file size, digital signatures, etc. The blocks8may have multiple components. Once written to the blockchain repository9the blocks8positions are recorded within the blockchain repository9. Various other Blocks for other consumers may be written after the data lease block8.

The intended and authorized Consumer is notified by the data lease system4, over a suitable secure network11, that the digital evidence2is available, and then the Consumer uses a client-side data lease system14, which may comprise computer software instructions15, stored on non-transitory memory16, and that are executable by a processor or controller17on the consumer's computer18to read a copy22of the original digital evidence2. The data lease system4may present the terms and conditions3to the Consumer, and require a digital signature or some other form of secure acknowledgement accepting the terms and conditions3prior to a copy22of the digital evidence2, the terms and conditions3and the metadata is released to the Consumer's environment. The data lease system4and/or14may set up a proprietary encrypted temporary working data cache21, on the blockchain repository9, on the consumer's computer18or on a cloud-based location accessible by the Consumer, within which the copy22of the digital evidence2, the terms and conditions3, and the metadata may be decoded and saved along with various computer software utilities to monitor progress of the processing and status of the copy22providing audit details during the term that the copy22exists on the data cache21.

The Consumer, e.g. the current transcriber, and the other suppliers of the original digital evidence2may all own some of the digital evidence2that is relevant to the event that the Producer or Producer's client is investigating. In this case the Transcriber may produce new content20in the form of a required digital document from the audio and/or video evidence, and may then use the data lease system4and/or14to build, e.g. encode, and write the required digital document, along with Producer's destination metadata, tracking data and the digital signature, onto one or more new related data blocks23back onto the blockchain repository9via a suitable network11, The new related data blocks23, may include links to the block8, which includes the original digital evidence2. A message may be sent by the data lease system4and/or14that advises the Producer of the completion of the job under the accepted terms and conditions3. The data lease system4may then delete or otherwise remove the data cache21, including the copy22, used by the Consumer during the production of the new content20after the new related data blocks23are confirmed written to the blockchain repository9.

With standard Blockchain each party requires only access privileges to the blocks or data, but in accordance with the data lease system4, the agreement's terms and conditions3also form part of the data stored on the block8. In this case the Producer prepares an “agreement” or list of terms and conditions3, e.g. using the data lease computer software instructions5. The terms and conditions3represent a list of “rules”, these rules may be accepted by each party, i.e. the Producer, the Producer's Client, and the Consumer, using the digital evidence2within the data lease system4, and the terms and conditions3along with access privileges of the consumers, form a part of the one or more Blocks8that are stored within the general blockchain (database) repository9. The terms and conditions3may be assembled and written to the blockchain repository9, and the data lease system4may then notify the third parties, e.g. Consumers, of their access to the terms and conditions3and a copy22of the original digital evidence2. This part of the process documents the transaction within the data lease system4specifically designed for this purpose. The data lease system4is used to “build” the rules that are used to manage the terms and conditions3of the transaction. This eventually forms a part of the one or more blocks8being added to the blockchain repository9for purposes of preparing and sharing the rules that the data lease system4used between the Producer and the Consumer. Because the data should be “machine-readable” the rules may be extracted into a human-readable language which the data lease system4can understand and enforce. The data lease system4may also accept “bids” or “acceptance” of a particular job and alert via messages the Producer of this desire and the selected consumers may be provided with credentials, e.g. access privileges, to log into the blockchain repository9to review the terms of that access by the Consumer, e.g. transcriber, or other authorized user. This messaging and credentials process may be conducted over a suitable secure network.

The terms and conditions3included in the agreement may be conditions such as: access term or period of time, e.g. between two dates and two times; collection by the authorized user; purpose, e.g. to be used as evidence supporting charges; and which may be used in a court of law and presented by a Prosecutor where Producer retains ownership of the digital content. The terms and conditions3may also require that the Consumer is a predetermined subscriber with access privileges and authorized to use the data lease system4to produce new content20, and that the Producer agrees to the “rules” and provides access to the digital evidence2, i.e. the copy22, that is desired. Once that access is granted the Blockchain “rules” for this transaction ensure that compliance to the terms and conditions3are maintained. Then the Consumer may then access the digital evidence2, e.g. the copy22of the digital evidence2, through the Data Lease system4and14in the data cache21, and process as necessary with authenticated parties as long as the “rules” in the one or more blocks8are maintained. This mechanism ensures that the Producers terms are met. The digital evidence2that the Consumer is looking to use may be audio or video from Public CCTV/Smartphones, audio and/or video from Military base cameras, audio and/or video from the Hospital records of the suspect, and audio and/or video from similar case records collected by any evidence-based market. All these parties may not know each other but may be guaranteed that the exchange or transaction of the digital evidence2they are contemplating will be secure, and that the ownership of the digital evidence2used and produced will be protected. The legal aspect can be assured that a verifiable chain-of-custody will exist starting at the first log on to the blockchain repository9.

The terms and conditions3may contain terms which define that certain inconsequential portions of the digital evidence2provided by the Producer are redacted by the Producer, as the inconsequential portions have nothing to do with the new content20being produced by the Consumer. This customization protects the release of information not desired by the original owner of the digital evidence2.

The blockchain repository9maintains a clear and indisputable record of the transactions associated with this exchange and in that way represents a chain-of-custody. Typically, this is one of the strengths of Blockchain technology that the smart lease system4leverages, although this application of it is quite different since this transaction has no financial basis. Typically, the types of files that end up being used as evidence contain other extraneous information which is either unrelated to the current case or contains information which is confidential. The smart lease system4may protect that content from disclosure through the proprietary encrypted cache21that exists only for the period of time in the “terms and conditions” and only for the authorized and authenticated Consumer.

Once the agreement, i.e. the terms and conditions3, of the data lease is agreed by all parties the Producer owned content, i.e. the digital evidence2, is copied to the blockchain repository9and securely “packaged” by the processor7of the data lease system4. In this case because each job and the associated Block8may contain a number of different types of evidence, applets, attachments and so on the digital evidence2may be packed together for encryption and a small program to ensure that the terms and conditions3are accepted BEFORE the content is unpacked. The copy22is made available on the data cache21, e.g. the public Blockchain repository9, according to the terms of the agreement3. After the predetermined time period or event when the access to the data cache21is withdrawn the Consumer based “copy”22and the data cache21are irrevocably removed, i.e. deleted. Although the Block8remains in the Blockchain repository9, the Consumer's access to the Producers file, (digital evidence2), i.e. the copy22, is ended according to the previously accepted “rules”. Accordingly, the copy22of the file(s) previously saved at the local consumer data cache21is deleted. A key factor to this innovation is that the data cache21may be virtual and may be distributed. A decentralized repository of information means that many smaller repositories, e.g. data cache21, may exist in different places and on different devices. These are secured, encrypted and exist only for the duration of the lease timeframe according to the terms and conditions3. The data lease system4, i.e. computer software instructions5and the processor7, ties all the data caches21together to appear as one large repository. Each repository owner (Producer) will have numerous Consumer data caches21of digital evidence tracked by the data lease system4. Each consumer data cache21may be bound together in a single blockchain repository9allowing for the exchange of evidence that exists on any local repository with any other member of that blockchain repository9who has agreed to the terms and conditions of the Blockchain contract. The digital evidence2owned by a Producer may be sent to any local data cache21, which is a party to the blockchain repository9.

FIG.1illustrates the details related to the transition of the digital evidence2from an online secure environment to an authorized securely managed offline environment and then back to a secure online environment. The process1is managed by the smart data lease system4. During the process1original digital evidence2is acquired and securely packaged, and new content20, e.g. a new transcription, is added to the other metadata and audit data returned via the smart data lease system4. The Producer of the digital evidence2, via the smart lease system4, compiles information to support the assignment of specialized work to an offline Consumer (transcriber). The information may come from multiple sources and systems, and include the digital evidence2, such as evidence management, transcription format specifications, notes, annotations, attachments, source system identifiers, along with the digital terms and conditions3, digital agreements10, and small utility applets and metadata30. The smart data lease system4assembles the component data files into an encrypted package35, generating digital signatures and other keys for the content. The smart lease system4encodes the package35as the encrypted block8for adding to the transcription blockchain repository9. There may be one or more blocks8depending on the size of the digital evidence2and the related files3,10and30, and may require that additional block numbers be tracked related to block8in the blockchain repository9. The destination Consumer (transcriber) using the smart data lease application15unpacks the terms and conditions3of the data lease which requires a digital acceptance40to proceed to the next step. The digital acceptance40of the terms and conditions3of the data lease is recorded for later use. Upon acceptance, the smart data lease application15begins to decode and unpack the copy22. The copy22may include the small applets which prepare the encrypted cache21within which the copy22of the digital evidence2is placed. The consumer may then read and play the evidence as appropriate to perform the desired tasks. For the period of time and the conditions specified in the accepted terms and conditions3the copy22is available for the desired job, in this case producing a verbatim or similar transcript of the audio evidence. Once these tasks are complete or the assigned time expires the smart data lease system4begins to assemble the new content20along with metadata45, e.g. the security statistics, timestamps, and audit trail, into an encrypted return package50. Part of this processing requires the generation of digital keys of the content as assembled. The return package50may be encrypted then written back onto the transcription blockchain repository9. The smart data lease system4may then delete the local encrypted cache21and any content, e.g. copy22. The newly generated block(s)23contain information which relates the block(s)23to the original source block(s)8. At the time that the new block(s)23are written to the blockchain repository9a message may be sent by the smart data lease system4to the original owner, e.g. producer and client, to advise that a return block23has been written to the blockchain repository9related to certain block numbers, e.g. block8. At the source (Producer) the new Block(s)23may be evaluated by the smart data lease system4to extract the content and verify the security and audit trails for compliance by the transcriber with the original terms and conditions3as well as confirming the integrity or veracity of the returned content.

FIG.2depicts the use of the smart data lease system4including the transition between online secured digital evidence2, and secured and managed data leased digital evidence, e.g. copy22, offline with multiple destinations and Consumers (Transcribers). In this example system100, a long blockchain repository9containing individual Producer or source blocks8,108and208of encrypted packages35,135and235, respectively, comprising digital evidence2,102and202, along with the metadata30, and the terms and conditions3corresponding thereto for the smart data lease system4. The chain of blocks encoded by the Producer may extends to many thousands of blocks in either direction. Some blocks may be directly linked to each other as they contain data and digital evidence2which is combined as a block group authorized to an offline Consumer, in this case a transcriber. As the blocks cross from the online and controlled environment to the offline environment typical of a Transcriber Consumer, the smart data lease system4or14used by the Transcriber accesses and authenticates against the Block content through a series of digital acceptance40, e.g. signatures, credentials and/or keys. Once authorized, the Transcriber is presented with the terms and conditions3of the smart data lease system4, which may be the same or different for each consumer. A valid response, e.g. digital acceptance40, to these conditions is requested and the answer is recorded. The blocks, e.g. blocks8,108and208, decoded by the smart data lease system4contain all the content required by the Transcriber, e.g. including copies22,22′,122, and222of the digital evidence2,102and202, such as AV, metadata, terms, notes, annotations, attachments and specific source specifications. The smart data lease system4, once the terms and conditions3have been accepted, e.g. via the digital acceptance40, then creates a proprietary encrypted cache21,121or221, e.g. on the local machine18,118or218or a cloud memory connected thereto, within which the necessary evidence content, e.g. copies22,22′,122and222are unloaded. In this depiction four separate Transcriber environments are depicted, each including the client-side data lease system14,14′,114and214, which may comprise computer software instructions15,15′,115and215stored on non-transitory memory16,16′,116and216that are executable by the processor or controller17,17′,117and217on the consumer's computer18,18′,118and218. Each Transcriber may have accepted terms and conditions3which vary by the length of the data lease time, the turnaround time, the level of redaction, the formats etc. Once the time expires or the Transcriber completes their work the smart data lease system4may then begin to encode a new destination block23,123or223, respectively, with similar content as was in the original Producer Block8,108and208. The new destination blocks23,123and223though contain additional metadata related to specific identifying numbers of the computer, the transcriber id, credentials, audit trail of events which occurred during the transcription and other security content to assure the veracity of the original content delivered. The new destination blocks23,123and223may also contain the new content50,150and250including metadata45,145and245produced by the Transcriber on behalf of the evidence Producer.

FIG.2illustrates the distributed and decentralized nature of the secure Blockchain Exchange. The apparatus may accommodate any exchange of protected data between secure online environments and an offline environment, such as a computer not permanently connected to the Internet, but which is secured through the proposed techniques to maintain the data integrity and confidentially throughout its use by the Consumers. The blockchain repository9connects many Consumer based distributed and secured local repositories that retain information and metadata describing the digital evidence2,102or202, its location, and the associated rules of use, i.e. terms and conditions3. Equally there could be multiple producers who are authorized to write data to the public Blockchain repository9for use by authorized consumers.

With further reference toFIG.2, the system100may enable a plurality of Consumers in different markets, such as Insurance, Justice and Government, to be given permission/access via their computers18and18′ to separate individual caches21and21′, respectively, each including copies22and22′, respectively, of the digital evidence2to produce new content20and20′, e.g. transcripts, which are then written back to the block23of the blockchain repository9with all of the status or audit information collected by the data lease system4,14and14′, while that content was in use according to the terms and conditions3and3′, which may be the same or different terms and conditions. The status and audit metadata may be critical to supporting that the security of the digital evidence2has been maintained, and may include data such as time, user, system events (read, play, write, print) MAC addresses, IP addresses, ESN numbers, reads, writes, other programs used to access content. The system100may also enable a plurality of predetermined Consumers via their computers118and218with permission/access to separate individual caches121and221, each including a copy of different files of digital evidence122and222, which may contain different terms and conditions103and203, to produce different new content files120and220for transmission to different blocks123and223of the blockchain repository9. In this case, the different terms and conditions103and203could include a difference in the turnaround times or expiry dates.

The exchange or transaction of the digital evidence2is protected and documented by the data lease system4and the blockchain repository9, which is managed by the terms and conditions3referenced by the specific block8within the blockchain repository9. The data lease system4provides a mechanism for the Producers and the Consumers to securely connect, exchange content, e.g. digital evidence2, based on a set of rules, e.g. terms and conditions3, identifies the content, provides a messaging infrastructure, provides an authenticated copy22for limited use according to the rules agreed in a secure environment and, documents this in a secure Blockchain-based chain-of-custody design. At the expiry of that period the Producer's content, i.e. the copy22,22′,122and222, is removed from the Consumer's data lease environment, e.g. data cache21,21′,121and221.

With reference toFIG.3, the Consumer, e.g. Transcriber, side of the smart data lease system4, may comprise an environment encompassing the entire offline environment. The Producer may have moved the digital evidence2to the blockchain repository9and the specific set of blocks8, as the encrypted package35. The blocks8contain the encoded package35with all of the required data for the authorized Transcriber to perform their work. The package35is then partially decoded by the smart data lease system4used by the Transcriber to unpack the package35. The smart data lease system4and/or14reads the block8, decodes and presents the terms and conditions3before decoding the digital evidence2or creating the encrypted local cache21. The Transcriber accepts the terms and conditions3using the digital acceptance40, e.g. unique key to them, such as username and password entry, which once matched by the smart data lease system4then begins to decode and unpack the digital evidence2contained in the blocks8authorized to that specific Transcriber. A set of keys may be used initially to confirm the recipient is who is intended for the content. As the keys are authenticated the smart data lease system4and/or14begins to decode and unpack, at51, the package35into a proprietary and encrypted cache21, i.e. a working area. The decoding and unpacking of the package35may comprise content including the terms and conditions3, the copy22of the digital evidence2, the request10, the metadata30, an audit trail monitoring program52, an identifier collection53, attachments54, annotations55, notes56and time stamps57. A specialized and proprietary player61may be available in the smart data lease system14, e.g. stored in the non-transitory memory16and executable by the processor or controller17, as some or all of the content may require a special encryption/decryption technology to read and play. The Transcriber may uses their computer18, or some other smart device, with the smart data lease system14and application15to access and work with the digital evidence2in the protected and tracked environment of the local cache21. As the work is completed or the lease data time expires and access prevented by the smart data lease system4and/or14, the smart data lease system4and/or14then begins to pack and encode the new content20produced as a result of their transcription into the encrypted return package50for storage on the new return block23. The encrypted return package50may include the new content20, e.g. a transcription of the copy22of the digital evidence2, the metadata45, e.g. the security statistics, timestamps, and audit trail of the new content20, along with some or all of the original content, e.g. one or more of the terms and conditions3, request10, copy22, metadata30, the audit trail monitoring program52, the identifier collection53, the attachments54, the annotations55, the notes56and the time stamps57. The new return block23when complete is written to the blockchain repository9by the smart data lease system4and/or14and a unique link62is assigned that links it with the original block8assigned to the Transcriber. As the new return block23is written to the blockchain repository9the proprietary and encrypted cache21is removed along with all of the content from the Consumers/Transcribers computer18.

As depicted the client side of the data lease system14may perform several additional functions, such as one or more of the following: 1) working in an offline mode; 2) interpreting and applying the terms and conditions3of the data lease, e.g. date, time, length, permissions, system events occurring during the use, actions taken by the user and other local events recorded by the operating system; 3) providing the proprietary reader/player61configured to encrypt/decrypt the copy22of the digital evidence2for the purpose defined in the terms and conditions3; 4) tracking all events and actions associated with the copy22of the digital evidence2, such as file use, encryption, de-encryption, acceptance (or not) of terms and conditions3set forth; 5) reading and auditing unique factors such as MAC address, IP address, User Credentials, program use and so on; and 6) taking the new content20produced (the transcript), and package that back into the new return block (s)23for writing to the Blockchain repository9.

With reference toFIG.4, on the producer side of the data lease system4, the functions are focused on the encoding and decoding of the blocks8and unpacking of the new digital evidence2. As well it must capture the various metadata, audit trail, and terms and conditions3of the digital evidence2to ensure that security and compliance have been maintained. The origins of the digital evidence2packaged into the block8may come from numerous locations and files including, customer contracts, case files, required tools or utilities and authorizations required.

The processing, decoding and unpacking of the new content20along with all of the audit and tracking or metadata45, which validates the veracity of the new content20and confirms the security of the data leased to this Transcriber is evaluated. After the Consumer, e.g. transcriber, via the data lease system14, returns the new content20and saves the return package50into the Blockchain repository9with the required tracking and security metadata45within the prescribed time as dictated by the terms and conditions3, the smart data lease system4sends the Producer a communication in the form of a notification71. The notification71comprises the original Block number, e.g. block8, and the new linked block number, e.g. block23, on the blockchain repository9. The Producer's smart data lease system4reads the relevant blocks23off of the blockchain repository9and begins to decrypt, decode and unpack the new content20along with security and audit metadata45. As this process proceeds the audit metadata45, e.g. metadata, timestamps, audit trail and security identifiers are analyzed. This analyses confirms the veracity of the new content20, but also confirms that the terms and conditions3of the smart data lease were complied with. Should the smart data lease have expired before the Transcriber completed the job then this status would be noted and assessments made to determine circumstances require a new smart data lease. The audit metadata45, whether completed or expired, contains items, such as events occurring on the destination/Consumers computer18. The validation provides evidence that the confidentiality and security of the original digital evidence2was maintained throughout the data lease term. As that confirmation is completed the new content20and metadata45supporting the veracity of the new content20is stored back to the original smart lease system4, e.g. on the content Producer's non-transitory memory6or other suitable memory. The new content20is then used by other systems, e.g. to support AI systems analyses, payment terms, and file appropriately the resulting transcripts.

With reference toFIG.5, the Producer301, using the smart data lease system4, may prepare at box302an agreement303, including the terms and conditions3, inside the blockchain repository9with one or more protected portals, and may then send notices to each predetermined secure Consumer304via any suitable communications network, e.g. email, telephone etc. Each Consumer304may then enter one of the protected portals to the blockchain repository9and accepts the Terms and Conditions3or adjust as acceptable. As each Consumer304accepts the agreement303, the smart lease system4then creates the new return blocks, e.g.23,123and/or223, in the blockchain repository9and the secure temporary data cache21. Once that path is created at the blockchain repository9the transaction is recorded and authenticated at305in the blockchain repository9and saved in the data cache21accessible by the Consumer304. The path or link to the data cache21is broken or deleted when the terms and conditions3of the agreement303have expired. The original digital evidence2remains in the block8of the blockchain repository9as an original. In this way the Producer301and the Consumer304share a secure and well managed method, e.g. by the data lease system4and14executing the terms and conditions3, to exchange the digital evidence2, i.e. copies22, with each other that protects the interests of all parties and secures the digital evidence2with the veracity of a Blockchain environment. This is not simply a separate agreement with a blockchain backend, but rather a customized extension of a typical Blockchain with a “parameters-based” agreement, which is embedded in and manages the Blockchain transaction parameters. The result is an authenticated chain-of-evidence list of certified transactions as well as a secured and protected virtual repository of digital evidence2. Rather than create a massive database of replicated content, the actual content, e.g. digital evidence2, is left in distributed and decentralized databases or local repositories, e.g. block8, until called upon. In this manner the block8generated and its subpart the “transaction” contains not only the actual exchange information, but also all the parameters or rules, e.g. terms and conditions3, associated with that exchange. Unlike a financial blockchain transaction this block transaction may contain many Producers files, some of which could be different content and formats, e.g. images, video's, audio, text, documents, etc., and may include multiple different Consumers.

The data lease system4may be applied in numerous situations where one party is trying to assemble content to prove an event using digital evidence2collected by third parties. In the case of other evidence-based markets, such as medical mal-practice, the digital evidence2collected from numerous places where the professional is required to demonstrate competency, may be assembled as previously described and represent proof of their competency. In most scenarios the data lease system4may support a secure and managed exchange of content with the veracity to withstand legal scrutiny between online and offline environments. The veracity of that evidence becomes the chain-of-custody maintained and verified through the terms and conditions3managed by custom blocks8in the blockchain repository9. This will equally apply to digital evidence2mined by AI through all means of private and publicly available resources. Providing a blockchain secured, “terms and conditions” modified transaction list in a distributed manner allows for both Producer and Consumer to be unknown to each other but interact in a trusted exchange.

The smart data lease system4may in the same manner protect exchanges of protected data between Producers and larger entities such as Transcription companies who in term provided that proprietary content to numbers Consumers (Transcribers) to complete offline jobs.

The term controller or processor may include a computer processor including computer hardware and computer software executable thereon along with suitable memory for storing the computer software. The term circuit may include dedicated hardware or hardware in associated with software executable thereon.

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions); and

(c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.”

The foregoing description of one or more example embodiments has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the disclosure be limited not by this detailed description.