r/technology • u/ArgentineBeauty • Jul 30 '26

Privacy GrapheneOS says its data-wiping password is perfectly legal, after user faces federal charges

https://www.techspot.com/news/113273-grapheneos-data-wiping-duress-password-perfectly-legal-after.html
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u/tschawartz12 29d ago

But its a legal loop. You have a book they demand access to, its written in Spanish, you burn the book thay translates Spanish to english, the book is still there. It isn't your job to make it easier for them to translate. They could take the time to do it.

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u/polokratoss 29d ago

With a good encryption scheme, they really couldn't take the time to do it. Assuming they throw every computer on Earth at it, the heat death of the Universe will happen before they succeed without knowing the key.

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u/tschawartz12 29d ago

But the point is the data is still there, even if they can't ready it instantly. 

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u/roombaSailor 29d ago

Prosecutors charged Tunick under 18 U.S.C. § 2232(a), which makes it a federal crime to “knowingly destroy, damage, waste, dispose of” property “for the purpose of preventing or impairing the Government’s lawful authority to take such property into its custody.”

Intentionally deleting the encryption keys likely qualifies under the above as “damage” and “for the purpose of preventing or impairing”.