Last week, we announced the next step in our comprehensive case management solution – Lima 2.3. This update will bring with it a multitude of functional and performance upgrades, the first of which, will profoundly change the way that evidence handling is managed in digital forensic laboratories across the world. Introducing PIN Locking.

A Dramatic Change to Evidence Handling

We at IntaForensics believe this will solidify and secure the way Evidence will be moved, not only from person to person, or location to location but any combination of movement processes. Pin locking will be introduced as a simple yet highly effective method of locking down the tracked movement of evidence. Each ‘Storage Location’ which is classed as being Pin-Locked, will have a list of staff accounts who can enter their unique Pin Code to authorise the movement of exhibits.

The core function in any laboratory management process is the movement of evidence. Pin Locking offers a new level of granularity to this management process. The new Lima Pin Locking feature will allow forensics laboratories to control the flow of materials in a much more precise way, improving communication and in turn reducing laboratory errors through a simple authorisation process. Perfect for those who need to demonstrate tight laboratory procedures in line with international quality accreditations.

Simple to Set Up

Everything can be securely managed by your assigned Lima Administrator with set up taking minutes. New features and options are added to administrator and staff management sections of the Lima application.

Each staff member can have their own unique, secure pin set up within the resources module within their staff account. This can be managed by the individual staff members or designated Lima Administrator.

Simply choose which storage locations require pin locking.

And then simply choose which staff members will can authorise the movement of evidence to and from this location. Here you can define who needs to enter pin/authorise and who will not be able to move any evidence to and from the storage location.

Once confirmed, the PIN lock will be displayed next to exhibit location to show it’s pin locked status.

Upon evidence movement, Pin Authorisation will be required.

Once the move has been authorise, by the designated Staff Member, the chain of custody is automatically updated to reflect the movement of the evidence and the authority body for clarity.

Lima storage pin locking protects evidence from moving to unauthorised locations also. It will allow users to protect evidence from moving from, as well as to, the location – protecting against un-authorised staff members from conducting prohibited evidence movements. By limiting the movements of evidence, this ensures that cases remain accurate whilst reducing the possibility of potentially detrimental errors occurring.

Refining Accountability

It goes without saying that cases often contain highly classified and confidential information which only certain members of staff should be authorised to access. This builds upon the existing methodology of full laboratory management control and adds a new layer of accountability for staff through the new Chain of Custody features

Pin Locking solidifies the evidence tracking process and introduces a new authorisation layer of accountability through the already comprehensive audit log. Laboratories across the world can now demonstrate a secure end-to-end management of evidence, showing a more thorough commitment to evidence management, an important quality for the gaining of international quality accreditations. Flexibility for quality accreditations, as well as expanding their laboratory management capabilities.

Expanding Capabilities

Need to control the movement of data within virtual environments? Need to move evidence across suppliers and clients? The new Pin Locking features can work within any current Lima environment. The new Pin Locking feature is compatible across all customisable evidence locations including external companies and delivery staff, for example. Now tight chain of custody can expand across laboratories and even secure the transaction of evidence in and out of your company, regardless of where the evidence is moving.

Lima Tip – Have you tried setting up staff members as storage locations? A quick and effective way of identifying when an evidence is currently being handled by a staff member within your company. 

How do I get Pin Locking? 

Our Lima 2.3 update will be coming this May and will be available for all Lima Personal, Laboratory and Enterprise clients. With the release of our Lima Support Portal, getting Lima 2.3 will be the most simple and accessible Lima update so far. Simply navigate to the Downloads section, where the update will be available.

This is just the first of our Lima 2.3 updates. Over the next couple of months, we will be releasing a new feature every week to give you a ‘sneak peak’ into what to expect from the Lima 2.3 update.