Information provenance

Information provenance is the accurate historical record of an information object such as a digital text, an image, or an audio file. Provenance begins with identification of the original form and authorship of an object or its constituent components and continues with identification of each subsequent alteration to the object. Provenance information can include not only what was changed but also who or what produced the change, when the change was made, and other attributes of the object. As reliance on networked information and transactional processes grows, the need for technical means of establishing information provenance becomes increasingly important. The goal of information provenance capabilities is to track the pedigree of a digital object from its origin through all transformations leading to the current state.