What is this product?
The DVA (Digital Video Authenticator) system can be used to prove that a digital video has not been modified since it was first recorded. The software is implemented on a commercial laptop or on a palmtop that works with any standards-compliant digital camcorder. While the camcorder is recording, the system simultaneously generates and records three digital signatures for each frame. The encrypted signatures make it possible to prove that the original video and the video offered as evidence in court are identical.
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Engineering
prototype of the Digital Video Authenticator with palmtop and standards-compliant
camcorder.
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What can it do?
The DVA can prove that a video offered as
evidence in court, for example, is identical to the video an agent originally
made in the field. Digital signatures are a secure, widely accepted method
of ensuring data integrity. The signature is a short abbreviation of the
message encrypted via public-key cryptography. One key (the private key)
is used to encrypt the data, and another (the public key) is used to decrypt
it. The private key is embedded in the DVA and inaccessible to external
devices. It is used to sign the video frames in real time, as the video
is recorded, and is destroyed immediately afterwards to prevent later
editorial tampering. LEARN MORE . . .
What are the benefits?
Any organization involved with collecting
evidence for use in civil or criminal legal cases could benefit from use
of this technology. The system offers several of benefits:
The DVA process
preserves the digital video recording without alteration, unlike watermarking
techniques, for example, which superimpose data over the evidence. Because signatures
are created for every frame, even a single frame can be authenticated. The DVA is implemented
on a commercial laptop computer that attaches to standard, commercial
off-the-shelf camcorders. - Standards compliance, particularly the use of National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST)-certified digital signature software,
offers the sound, recognized scientific principles that a judge can
rely upon in ruling on the admissibility of digital signatures to authenticate
digital video evidence.
©
2003 The Johns Hopkins University |
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