A method for preserving chain of custody for digital evidence captured at a portable device, the method comprising: transmitting, at the portable device, to a cloud server, a request for approval to upload the digital evidence to the cloud server via an intermediary storage device, the request comprising a digitally signed metadata associated with the digital evidence, a first authentication credential associated with the intermediary storage device, and a second authentication credential associated with the portable device, wherein the digitally signed metadata includes a data integrity code that is generated as a function of the digital evidence to be uploaded in response to receiving an approval from the cloud server; receiving, at the portable device, a first response to the request for approval from the cloud server, the first response indicating approval provided by the cloud server to upload the digital evidence to the cloud server via the intermediary storage device, wherein the approval is provided by the cloud server after verifying that the intermediary storage device is a trusted device and that the intermediary storage device is capable of supporting the transfer of the digital evidence from the portable device to the cloud server; responsive to receiving the first response, transmitting, at the portable device, the digital evidence to the intermediary storage device for uploading to the cloud server; transmitting, at the portable device, to the cloud server, a request for approval to delete the digital evidence from the portable device; receiving, at the portable device, a second response from the cloud server, the second response indicating an approval to delete the digital evidence from the portable device; and responsive to receiving the second response, deleting, at the portable device, the digital evidence from the portable device. transmitting, at the portable device, to a cloud server, a request for approval to upload the digital evidence to the cloud server via an intermediary storage device, the request comprising a digitally signed metadata associated with the digital evidence, a first authentication credential associated with the intermediary storage device, and a second authentication credential associated with the portable device, wherein the digitally signed metadata includes a data integrity code that is generated as a function of the digital evidence to be uploaded in response to receiving an approval from the cloud server; receiving, at the portable device, a first response to the request for approval from the cloud server, the first response indicating approval provided by the cloud server to upload the digital evidence to the cloud server via the intermediary storage device, wherein the approval is provided by the cloud server after verifying that the intermediary storage device is a trusted device and that the intermediary storage device is capable of supporting the transfer of the digital evidence from the portable device to the cloud server; responsive to receiving the first response, transmitting, at the portable device, the digital evidence to the intermediary storage device for uploading to the cloud server; transmitting, at the portable device, to the cloud server, a request for approval to delete the digital evidence from the portable device; receiving, at the portable device, a second response from the cloud server, the second response indicating an approval to delete the digital evidence from the portable device; and responsive to receiving the second response, deleting, at the portable device, the digital evidence from the portable device.