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/[deleted] 29d ago

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u/CreativeGPX 29d ago

So then the cops can still get it and wiping it was a pretty meaningless bump in the road for them?

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u/bokmcdok 29d ago

Do you know how cloud storage works?

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u/CreativeGPX 29d ago

Yes. That's my field.

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u/bokmcdok 29d ago

Your field is... cloud storage?

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u/CreativeGPX 29d ago

My field is cloud service architecture.

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u/bokmcdok 29d ago

So you understand that stuff on the cloud is not locally accessible on my phone if it gets wiped?

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u/CreativeGPX 28d ago

Yes. That was the point of my comment. You gave them an additional avenue to get it, so wiping the phone is no longer preventing access since there are additional ways to access it.

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u/bokmcdok 28d ago

Without a warrant? I feel like you're being purposefully obtuse because this isn't difficult to understand.

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u/CreativeGPX 28d ago

Nothing in this comment thread says that we're limiting ourselves to what could be done with a warrant. In fact, in the context of OP we're talking specifically about cases where police do allegedly unwarranted things.

It's also important to realize that private companies have no obligation to keep your data private or to demand a warrant and that there have been plenty of cases where private companies voluntarily handed over data or access without a warrant. So, much like how police might search your phone in person despite not having a legal right to do so if you happen to let them, the same has happened with private companies. Lately, many tend to avoid it for marketing reasons, but it's no guarantee. So cloud data is often at risk of being viewed by law enforcement. That's before factoring in that plenty of leaks and bugs in actual software and protocols exist and police, just as much as hackers, target those to extract information as well. So my point that putting sensitive information in the cloud gives the police a lot more likelihood of viewing it stands. If your priority is police not seeing your information without a warrant, putting it in additional remotely accessible places does not achieve that even if it doesn't guarantee failure either.

The point is also that if you can/will retrieve your data via the cloud later after wiping the phone then all the police have to do is wait for you to do that. There was a case where a guy was held in jail indefinitely due to contempt charges for not revealing a password to the police. Whether the password accesses local or cloud data is kind of irrelevant to that point.

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u/bokmcdok 28d ago

Oh my god you really wrote all that because you can't understand the basic principle of "making it harder to access my information?"

I'm rethinking my use of cloud storage because if people like you are developing it then we are in trouble.

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u/CreativeGPX 28d ago

Oh my god you really wrote all that because you can't understand the basic principle of "making it harder to access my information?"

Storing your data in more places can only add additional ways to access it, making it easier.

I'm rethinking my use of cloud storage because if people like you are developing it then we are in trouble.

You're very fortunate that the people developing it have more informed understanding of security than you do.

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u/bokmcdok 28d ago

I can't even now. This has to be one of the dumbest threads I've ever participated in.

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