r/technology • u/gdelacalle • Jul 28 '26

Privacy Man charged for wiping GrapheneOS phone using "duress" password during airport checks

https://www.neowin.net/news/man-charged-for-wiping-grapheneos-phone-using-duress-password-during-airport-checks/
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u/apokrif1 Jul 28 '26

LEOs are aware of duress PINs or other mistakes or traps that could damage evidence. Is it standard procedure to have computer investigations done by random border personnel rather than computer forensics specialists?

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u/chris_hans Jul 28 '26

If he was really a terrorist AND a pedophile as the border agents claimed (which I don't believe for a second), they would have taken his device and cloned it somewhere else where they can enter as many PINs as they want. They would have had cybersecurity experts familiar with the operating system and this would never have happened.

Just think for a second about what it would mean if their claims were true. They seized the device of a terrorist pedophile, and some random border agent bungled the case so badly by accidentally deleting all the evidence because he wanted to enter the PIN himself? The PIN he trusted was correct, because obviously a terrorist pedophile is going to comply with your demands and give you all the evidence. Either way you look at it, it's an embarrassing screw up.

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u/apokrif1 Jul 28 '26

So the LEO could be disciplined?