Spoliation of evidence

Spoliation of evidence occurs when one party obstructs another party’s access to evidence by hiding, withholding, altering or destroying it.  This claim can be made whether the actions were intentional or negligent.

In computer forensics and e-discovery, one must take the necessary steps to prove the evidence gathered is a forensic copy of the original (or you must state the reason why it is not and how it was modified) in order to migitage the risk of your analysis being discounted.

Also, computer forensics is a great way to prove or disprove a spoilation of evidence claim.