Law360, New York (October 10, 2014, 10:12 AM EDT) -- Courts are increasingly addressing questions regarding the proper methods and support to authenticate electronic evidence. In an opinion dated Sept. 24, 2014, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled that incriminating instant messages sent under a false name were sufficiently authenticated by the recipient's trial testimony of "confirming circumstances" tying the electronic confession to the defendant.[1] On Oct. 3, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued its opinion in United States of America v. Zhyltsou, vacating a conviction because the trial court improperly admitted evidence from a social media page that the federal government tied to the defendant without sufficient proof of its authenticity.[2] Both appellate rulings instruct that a proponent must not overlook or presume the necessary foundational proof to authenticate electronic evidence....