Mass. Supreme Court Says Defendant Can Be Compelled To Decrypt Data

Trailrunner7 (1100399) writes ... Security experts have been pounding the drum about the importance of encrypting not just data in transit, but information stored on laptops, phones, and portable drives. But the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court put a dent in that armor on Wednesday, ruling that a criminal defendant could be compelled to decrypt the contents of his laptops. The case centers on a lawyer who was arrested in 2009 for allegedly participating in a mortgage fraud scheme. The defendant, Leon I. Gelfgatt, admitted to Massachusetts state police that he had done work with a company called Baylor Holdings and that he encrypted his communications and the hard drives of all of his computers. He said that he could decrypt the computers seized from his home, but refused to do so. The MJSC, the highest court in Massachusetts, was considering the question of whether the act of entering the password to decrypt the contents of a computer was an act of self-incrimination, thereby violating Gelfgatt's Fifth Amendment rights. The ruling.

Comments

Lois Lerner Method

[bhlowe]

Take the 5th and say your computer crashed. That works for the IRS.

I lost the password

[Anonymous Coward]

if it's good enough for the IRS....

Re:Except, of course, they have to prove you can

[Safety Cap]

He should have remained silent. Being a lawyer he should have known that.

He must be a pretty shite lawyer. (Hopefully he isn't a criminal defense lawyer, because then he really IS a shite lawyer.)

FTFA:

“During his postarrest interview with State police Trooper Patrick M. Johnson, the defendant stated ... ‘[e]verything is encrypted and no one is going to get to it.’ The defendant acknowledged that he was able to perform decryption.”

What a dumb-bumble-fark. He deserves to burn for bragging/taunting the cops.

Rules for Talking to Cops

ONE Don't talk to cops, except what you are legally required to say (you must ID yourself, to whatever extent your state's laws specify) TWO The only thing that should come out of your piehole from the time your are arrested (especialy during any "post-arrest 'let's get the suspect to incriminate himself' interview") are the words: "I wish to remain silent and I want a lawyer." TREE STFU until you get a lawyer FOUR Remember that Everything you say will be used to burn you. Cops can lie and get away with it, and if you lie to a cop, you're fried. Do not believe anything they say, and don't try to talk your way out of it because you'll lose. NaN Getting (and following) legal advice from random people on the internets is about the stupidest thing you could do.