Does the record identify one event or a sequence of related events?¶
title: "Does the record identify one event or a sequence of related events?" card_id: "IP-102" status: "complete" source_document: "https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jEh3Y9Uc_wZiK9FMDhJakviqN2XlJ6TYk2TJ0ZdvHQY/edit?usp=drivesdk"
Does the record identify one event or a sequence of related events?¶
One action can produce several records. Equally, several records containing the same IP address may describe completely separate actions.
Suppose a platform shows an authentication request, a successful login, a session being created and a file being downloaded within a few seconds. Those entries may be stages in one sequence. But time alone doesn’t prove that. On a busy service, different users can generate similar events at almost the same moment.
Look for identifiers that the system uses to connect its own records. That might include a session ID, event ID, request ID, connection identifier, account ID, device token or transaction reference. The exact name varies between systems. An identifier repeated across several entries can provide a much stronger basis for grouping them than the IP address alone.
Also examine the direction and order of the activity. Does one event logically lead to the next? Do the source and destination details remain consistent? Does the account stay the same? Are the timestamps precise enough to establish an order, and are all the systems using the same time zone and reliable clocks?
Be careful with shared and changing addresses. Many users may appear behind one public IP address. One user may also change address between events by moving from Wi-Fi to mobile data, reconnecting, using a VPN or being allocated a new address. So a matching IP doesn’t necessarily make separate records one sequence, and a different IP doesn’t necessarily break the sequence.
Ask the system owner how the relevant identifiers are created, how long they last and whether they can be reused. Some “session” fields identify a genuine authenticated session. Others identify only a network flow, browser request or short processing step.
Describe the conclusion at the right level. You may be able to say that the system grouped several records under one session identifier, or that their timing and fields are consistent with a sequence. That can help reconstruct what the system recorded. It doesn’t, by itself, prove that one device or person performed every action in that sequence.