Encrypting data on your computer may protect you from hackers and thieves, but it won’t protect you from crime investigators. That was the finding of a federal district court in Colorado Monday in a case involving a woman who refused to decrypt the files on her laptop for government prosecutors. The woman, Romona Fricosu, of Peyton, Colo., denied prosecutors’ demand to decrypt the files on the grounds that doing so would violate her Fifth Amendment rights. She argued that forcing her to use her password to decrypt the files was tantamount to self-incrimination, which is prohibited by the constitution.
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Take the 5th? Not With Encrypted Hard Drives, Says Fed Judge
Posted by: John P. Mello Jr. January 25, 2012 08:31 AMEncrypting data on your computer may protect you from hackers and thieves, but it won’t protect you from crime investigators. That was the finding of a federal district court in Colorado Monday in a case involving a woman who refused to decrypt the files on her laptop for government prosecutors. The woman, Romona Fricosu, of Peyton, Colo., denied prosecutors’ demand to decrypt the files on the grounds that doing so would violate her Fifth Amendment rights. She argued that forcing her to use her password to decrypt the files was tantamount to self-incrimination, which is prohibited by the constitution.