Evidence Witness Architecture#

BenchVault currently supports manual email witnessing for certified backup copies and reserves typed route metadata for stronger future witnesses.

Current Route: Manual Email Witness#

The user clicks Certify Copy after a backup verifies locally. BenchVault opens an email draft containing the backup-copy fingerprint and scope language. The user reviews and sends the message.

This produces a practical outside timestamped record if the recipient mailbox is outside the notebook owner’s control. It is strongest when sent to a supervisor, SD, records staff, or retained shared institutional mailbox.

Future Routes#

Route

Normal payload

Notes

Institution mailbox

Seal JSON

Mailbox should be institution-owned and retention-protected.

Trusted timestamp authority

Manifest hash only

Proves the hash existed by a time without sending notebook content.

Institution API

Seal JSON

Allows signed receipts, policy checks, and audit dashboards.

Immutable file-server drop

Seal JSON

Works when owner accounts can add but not change or delete records.

Object-lock storage

Seal JSON or full backup bundle

Strong route for WORM-style custody.

Retention library

Seal JSON

Fits SharePoint-style records libraries with retention policy.

Append-only transparency log

Manifest hash only

Supports inclusion proofs.

Offline write-once media

Seal JSON

Low-tech route when custody is managed separately.

Future Verification States#

  • Unsealed

  • Local seal

  • Certification email prepared

  • Witness pending

  • Witnessed

  • Institution archived

  • Warning

The app should always show the scope of the state. Certified backup copy means the local backed-up copy, not the live LabArchives notebook.