[TriLUG] best way to hack root...

Igor Partola igor at igorpartola.com
Fri Feb 22 14:07:49 EST 2013


There may have been but my impression was that in most cases the 5th
amendment doesn't apply. You cannot be forced to be a witness against
yourself, so the original argument is that by giving away your passphrase
you would be incriminating yourself. However, you can be subpoenaed for
evidence, especially if prosecution has evidence that there is more
evidence on your encrypted drive. And the passphrase itself is not a
testimony (unless your password is "Yes I committed the crime!").

The physical world analogy is that the judge may order you to open a safe
containing evidence relevant to the case. The analogy breaks down when you
lose your safe key. In that case, the policy simply crack the safe open
using whatever methods are available. You cannot force an encrypted drive
to decrypt via a drill.

Some articles I remember reading talking about both sides of this:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/01/judge-fifth-amendment-doesnt-protect-encrypted-hard-drives/

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/identity/landmark-decision-allows-child-porn-suspect-to-plead-fifth-in-password-case/291

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2744688

On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 1:58 PM, Jason Watts <jsnonzzr at gmail.com> wrote:

> I thought there was a rulling not forcing you to decrypt based on the 5th
> amendment... I'm on my crappy phone or I would look myself
>
>



More information about the TriLUG mailing list