📰 Latest news (June 2, 2026)
We have begun a research period focusing on Zeitwerk, our new free and open-source timestamping service, thanks to support from the Prototype Fund.
We are also deploying evidx.de to pilot media partners. Built in partnership with Dot•Studio, bootstrapped by the Babelsberg Media Innovation Center.
We have begun a research period focusing on Zeitwerk, our new free and open-source timestamping service, thanks to support from the Prototype Fund.
We are also deploying evidx.de to pilot media partners. Built in partnership with Dot•Studio, bootstrapped by the Babelsberg Media Innovation Center.
The Toolkit is an umbrella for several research strands: a (hopefully) coherent set of questions about how digital evidence gets made, broken, and made trustworthy again, with tools & demos built to answer those questions in practice.
Each project is independent but they share a baseplate of principles and design choices that make them snap together. From that shared problem, each tool is grounded in the practice of digital investigations, journalism and human rights documentation.
Research & writing
Digital investigations research
The questions the tools exist to answer, and updates about the projects.
→ See you on SubstackCapture & Archive
evidx.de
Capture, cryptographically sign, and preserve web content — creating tamper-evident archives that hold up under scrutiny. On your infrastructure, under your control.
→ evidx.deWorkflow
Raindrop → Browsertrix
A workflow bridge between a bookmarks app and forensic-quality archives. 9,000 URLs, 98 GiB, case study with Airwars.
→ Read moreAuthenticate
Zeitwerk
Trusted timestamps without blockchain or vendor lock-in. Funded by Prototype Fund 2026.
→ Read moreComing soon
WordPress Plugin
Chain-of-custody tracking, C2PA Content Credentials, and court-ready exports baked into the CMS you already use.
Coming soon
Microsoft Relativity Integration
Bringing DEPT's verification and chain-of-custody features into the legal discovery platform used by law firms and courts worldwide.
Shared baseplate principles and ideas
- 🔐 Cryptographic hashing (SHA-256, Merkle trees)
- 📋 Append-only, tamper-evident audit trails
- 🔗 Open, interoperable formats (WACZ, RFC 3161, C2PA)
- 🇪🇺 EU-grounded infrastructure
- ⚖️ Designed for legal admissibility from day one
Stay informed about evidence preservation and the Toolkit