A template for creating and sharing ground truth data in digital forensics

Ground truth data (GTD) is used by those in the field of digital forensics (DF) for a variety of purposes including to evaluate the functionality of undocumented, new, or emerging technology and services and the digital traces left behind following their usage. Most accepted and reliable trace interpretations must be derived from an examination of relevant GTD, yet despite the importance of it to the DF community, there is little formal guidance available for supporting those who create it, to do so in a way that ensures any data is of good quality, reliable, and therefore usable. In an attempt to address this issue, this work proposes a minimum standard of documentation that must accompany the production of any GTD, particularly when it is intended for use in the process of discovering new knowledge, proposing original interpretations of a digital trace, or determining the functionality of any technology or service. A template structure is discussed and provided in Appendix S1 which sets out a minimum standard for metadata describing any GTD's production process and content. It is suggested that such an approach can support the maintenance of trust in any GTD and improve the shareability of it.