A structured assessment of whether a contested recording, image or file is what it is presented to be.
Where a recording or image is disputed, the question is rarely answerable with a simple yes or no. A finding needs to explain what was tested and why it points where it does.
The assessment examines integrity and origin: file metadata, container and encoding history, and content credentials where present. It also reviews evidence of re-encoding or editing, device and codec consistency, and internal plausibility. Findings are expressed as consistent with, not consistent with, or indeterminate, with the reasoning and its limits stated in full.
Two engagement modes are available, Standard and Litigation, set out below.
Assessment of file integrity, metadata and encoding history
Review of content credentials and provenance signals where present
Analysis of editing, re-encoding and compression artefacts
Assessment of internal consistency, including acoustic and physical plausibility
Written findings with reasoning, confidence and stated limitations
A binary determination that content is or is not artificially generated
Speaker identification or voice attribution to a named individual
Recovery, extraction or acquisition of files from a device
Assessment of re-recorded or screen-captured material where original files are unavailable, unless expressly agreed in scope
Solicitors and barristers in family, employment and civil matters, insurers, and in-house counsel most commonly instruct this work. Individuals responding to a contested recording also instruct it directly.
Source files are submitted through a confidential inquiry, along with the question the assessment needs to answer.
The engagement mode, Standard or Litigation, is confirmed at scoping, along with turnaround.
Metadata, encoding history, content credentials and internal consistency are examined against the original files.
Findings are reviewed by the principal and expressed as consistent with, not consistent with, or indeterminate, with reasoning stated in full.
The report is delivered. Written clarification, or availability to answer questions under the Litigation mode, follows afterward.
Turnaround for a single-file assessment is three working days from receipt of usable source material, not from the date of instruction. Volume or format complexity may extend this; any extension is agreed in writing before work proceeds.
Assessment of contested media carries real limits, stated here rather than left implicit.
Every enquiry is reviewed by an analyst and routed to a scoping call, a written scope is confirmed before any work begins.