System for protecting documents or objects enclosed in a tamper-proof container

A system for protecting items transported between a plurality of locations, comprising:

• a plurality of storage boxes, one storage box housing an item and having an internal management system for controlling a plurality of operating modes of said protecting system, said internal management system having a memory that stores data pertaining to a current operating mode of said one storage box, in which transitions between operating modes take place upon the occurrence of specific events;
• a security receptacle for maintaining the security of said plurality of storage boxes;
• a supervisory computer that communicates with said internal management system to determine an existence of an unauthorized action, wherein if an unauthorized action is determined to exist, said item in said one storage box is destroyed and said data in said memory is erased, said supervisory computer further authorizing an operating mode transition of said one storage box when said operating mode is a global mode;
• a station, wherein said plurality of storage boxes, said security receptacle, said computer and said station are arranged in the configuration of a star network to communicate with each other and effect said transitions between operating modes;
• and
• means for authorizing and verifying said transitions between operating modes.