Which scenario best authenticates a digital document?

Which scenario best authenticates a digital document?

• A. Testimony from a person with knowledge about the document, and metadata confirming integrity
• B. A photocopy suffices
• C. A self-authenticating stamp is enough
• D. An oral assurance from the custodian is enough

Answer: (A)

Authenticating a digital document hinges on proving its origin and that it hasn’t been altered. The strongest evidence combines a knowledgeable person’s testimony about the document with metadata that confirms its integrity, such as hashes, digital signatures, or timestamps. This pairing shows who created or handled the document and provides a verifiable check that the content hasn’t changed. A photocopy doesn’t establish digital provenance or integrity, since it’s a different medium and cannot prove the original’s authenticity. A self-authenticating stamp is a concept for physical documents and isn’t applicable to digital files. An oral assurance from the custodian, while potentially helpful context, isn’t verifiable on its own and doesn’t provide concrete proof of authenticity or integrity.

Authenticating a digital document hinges on proving its origin and that it hasn’t been altered. The strongest evidence combines a knowledgeable person’s testimony about the document with metadata that confirms its integrity, such as hashes, digital signatures, or timestamps. This pairing shows who created or handled the document and provides a verifiable check that the content hasn’t changed.

A photocopy doesn’t establish digital provenance or integrity, since it’s a different medium and cannot prove the original’s authenticity. A self-authenticating stamp is a concept for physical documents and isn’t applicable to digital files. An oral assurance from the custodian, while potentially helpful context, isn’t verifiable on its own and doesn’t provide concrete proof of authenticity or integrity.