To Hash, or Not to Hash? That Is NOT the Question: When Hashing Creates a False Sense of Security

There has been extensive discussion and use precedent in the legal and security fields around hashing, its use and its value - real and perceived. Even though its robustness and usefulness are incontrovertible in the security world, hashing's perceived value in the legal field (for the purpose of establishing the authenticity of Electronically Stored Information) could benefit from some clarification. For a hash to be secure and useful for legal applications there must be some additional mechanism to protect and preserve the unique association between the data that is hashed, a trusted time datum, and the original hash result.