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Ask Slashdot: How Do You Securely Store Private Information For Posterity?
An anonymous reader writes "In the event of my untimely demise, my wife and family will need access to all of my private data (email, phone, laptop password, SSN, etc) and financial accounts and passwords (banks, 401(k), mortgage, insurance, etc). What's the best way to securely store all that data knowing the data is somewhat volatile (e.g. password changes) and also that someone else who is not technically savvy will need to access the most up to date version of it? Suggestions include a printed copy in a safe deposit box, an encrypted file, a secure server in the cloud, or maybe a commercial product."
Safety deposit box is probably the only reasonable solution. A file stored in the cloud or on a hard drive is likely to get deleted or the service will die before you do. Any documents/passwords/items your family needs should be stored in a safety deposit box. If the data changes frequently and your family absolutely needs access to it, which is unlikely, then keep them written down in a safe at home and make sure your family has the combination.
Not even a year ago, almost the same thing.
http://ask.slashdot.org/story/11/11/01/1414234/ask-slashdot-how-to-securely-share-passwords
Wuala - http://wuala.com/
Like Dropbox, but with actual security - i.e, client side encryption. You can also share information with groups of others etc.
LastPass - http://lastpass.com/
Solves all password problems, and all you have to make sure is that the master password is accessible after your death. Like, in your will.
it's in my head
Encryption is when you want to keep people out. In the scenario you've outlined, you need to let people in, but only certain people. That screams physical security. Your online passwords and all that crap can all be bypassed by a court order, which would be issued to the executor of your estate, authorizing the holder(s) of your assets to grant access to them. You don't need to keep a record of your passwords anywhere... once you're dead, they can just reset them. The rest might have value to you, but it is unlikely to have value to anyone else. Nobody's going to care about your licensed copy of Microsoft Office, or need to decrypt your secret collection of porn, music, and videos.
This is not a technical problem. This is a legal problem. This is the wrong forum to answer those kind of questions. You need to make a list of what assets you want (it's called a will) to pass on, and then simply make sure those assets are accessible. Call the companies up that maintain your online stuff and ask them. You don't have to worry about banks, mortgages, or physical assets: That's the executor of estate's job to sort out. Your Will provides all the legal power necessary.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Let me expand that a bit.
If your family absolutely needs the information MAKE SURE IT IS IN A PHYSICAL FORMAT and stored in a secure location.
Electronic formats are not reliable enough for critical information. Particularly if your family members are not sufficiently tech savvy.
If in Europe, you might prefer paper tape, but I doubt it.
PS Anyone got an open source program to print card images onto A4 paper? (readable by Lottery hardware)
Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
It might be worth mentioning that Banks will provide access to your Safe Deposit Box to law enforcement in various circumstances. I'm confident you can dig up news articles of consumer complaints that police accessed private SDBs with little (if any) proper process or authority. I've also come to understand that banks are required to turn over SDBs to the state in the event that the account holder dies so that the contained property can be included Probate into the estate for valuation and taxation purposes. If your credentials are in there it widens the scope of what can be seized for probate or snooped upon.
The "cloud" (both free or commercial) is very far to being a suitable solution for long term, secure store for private data. See the megaupload cease or even the stories of AWS outrage.
Anything network attached or even IT related is not suitable for what you are looking for. Probably the best solution is paper copies in a safe box with off site back up copies in safe-deposit box.
Easy, just write them on post-its and attach it to your monitor at work. It's the most secure location there is.
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...it's that your valuable information should be transcribed onto a special medallion, which is then quartered with each quarter piece buried in a deadly dungeon in a far flung corner of the land. That's what passed for "Cloud" storage in my day. (yes yes I know.)
I put everything on megaupload
It's very common for people to die without leaving this information behind, and there are methods in place to handle it. There is some security risk in having to modify the "private data stash" every time you change a password, account information, etc. Instead, it might be better to list the accounts, etc., and leave instructions on how to access them after your death or incapacitation, without the passwords. Since proof will be required for this type of access, your "private data stash" won't have to be so secret and you can eliminate a security risk.
Allowing access only to your heirs, and only when you're dead is impossible unless you've got *lots* of money. After 9/11 and the destruction of Swiss banking secrecyt, it's probably impossible.
But you don't have that much money.
So, since as others have mentioned, law enforcement can get your stuff if they really, really want it, all you can reasonably hope for is to make your documents tamper obvious
Thus...
So, if someone tries to steam open the envelope and then reseal it, you'll notice since they won't be able to exactly line up the two halves of the envelope and thus your signature will be misaligned.
(This is a variation on the old displaced strand of hair trick.)
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
Hm, can you name for me all the famous nihilists who did something other than be raving, depressed nihilists?
Does it matter?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
My way is getting the info into an /. article.
After that, the editors will take care that it is periodically available again as if it was a new article.
Why can't
So have her "taken care of" before you die... make sure it looks like an accident so they won't suspect you.
There's a plain looking red notebook in my desk drawer. The first five pages are blank. I've written down username/passwords and account numbers for everything. I've told her it's there and I keep it updated. I don't pretend the information is at risk from a meth-induced burglar. The FBI is not coming knocking. I have not discovered a secret to the universe. My method is simple and immediately available to my wife or daughter if it's needed.
FLASH memory degrades over time, albeit slowly. If stored safely, it can store data reliably for about 10 years. I think the best bet is actually good old fashioned paper, locked in a safe deposit box or on file with a trusted attorney (or both). The attorney should certainly know about your safe deposit box at the least.
Egoism is an accepted term.
Write failed: Broken pipe
In my experience, a Safety deposit box is a bad idea, at least if that's the only place you've stored things. Depending on the laws where you're located, as soon as a bank is notified of a death, the Safety deposit box is sealed. The box can be searched, if a will if found, it is sent to the court (not given to the family). Any other items can only be released via probate court order, which could take weeks or months. You may be able to work around limitations by having other names on the box, but the last thing you want to do in the aftermath of such an event is to dance around some banks procedures. Safety deposit boxes have significant legal encumbrances, give your loved ones a less difficult means to access your data.
A family trust can pass assets to your surviving spouse or other beneficiaries without having to go through probate. (it can provide some tax advantages, too). Put your bank account and other assets, including title to your house, in the name of the trust, and then the trust document controls what happens to them when you die.
I'm supposed to trust my most important personal information to an internet-based company who's home page cannot gracefully fail when I have JavaScript turned off? Really?
I don't have mod points, so I'll just repeat for emphasis.
Set up a Family Trust and make sure all of your assets are in it. Besides avoiding the hassle of probate, you can gain some tax advantages potentially, and (this last part may not be unique to Trusts) easily lay out your wishes for who will take care of your minor children should you and your spouse die together.
Ceci n'est pas un sig.
Your wife (if you actually have one) must have an incredible memory. And she must be pretty cool headed as well, to be able to remember all of your passwords in what - you hope - will be the worst time of her life.
I'm guessing you have never been married or you would realize how simplistic this notion is.
Just as an aside: Do you record all of your conversations you have with friends where you may have complained about your wife (or even just asked a close friend for guidance on how to deal with some issue) and then replay those recordings for your wife (again, if you have one)? I thought not.
Most people do not want to know every detail of what is going on in their spouse's life. All truly healthy relationships also include privacy. People need to know they can write an e-mail to their friends asking for help with an issue without worrying about their spouse being able to read it any time they want.
Conflating "having some privacy" with "not including your family in your life" is both a false dichotomy and terribly naive.