IIRC in law enforcement situations where a HDD has been obtained through slightly more conventional means, chain of custody is as important (as it is for all ev

IIRC in law enforcement situations where a HDD has been obtained through slightly more conventional means, chain of custody is as important (as it is for all evidence) as ensuring the state is maintained. There are many forensic hardware providers that specifically sell 'read only' readers to ensure that whilst in possession of the drive, it's state is preserved (as much as practicably possible).