Sony won't be involved directly with any part of the forensics. Their attorneys will contract with a forensics firm who will make an image of the drives (using

Sony won't be involved directly with any part of the forensics. Their attorneys will contract with a forensics firm who will make an image of the drives (using a write-blocked device like the ones made by Wiebetech or an Encase Fastbloc). Analysis will not be performed on the actual drive, but on the image. The defendant's attorney will also receive a copy of this image, ensuring that chain of custody was followed (or else they can sure to try and argue that the evidence has been tampered with). The images will be checksummed, and I would argue that the odds of evidence being tampered are pretty slim in this instance.