From Time magazine:
When Sebastien Boucher stopped at the U.S.-Canadian border, agents who inspected his laptop said they found files containing child pornography.
But when they tried to examine the images after his arrest, authorities were stymied by a password-protected encryption program.
Now Boucher is caught in a cyber-age quandary: The government wants him to give up the password, but doing so could violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by revealing the contents of the files.
Experts say the case could have broad computer privacy implications for people who cross borders with computers, PDAs and other devices that are subject to inspection.
Related posts:
- Laptop Searches in Airports Draw Fire at Senate Hearing From the New York Times: Advocacy groups and some legal...
- For $150, Third-World Laptop Stirs Big Debate From the New York Times: When computer industry executives heard...
- GM drives Hummer-branded laptop From TechRepublic: General Motors is expected to announce a new...
- Wal-Mart Selling a $498 Linspire Laptop This is from Michael’s Minutes. Michael Robertson is the CEO...
- $100 Laptop Effort Gains Momentum From PC Magazine: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s plan to...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Seems to me he SHOULD have had the encryption working prior to crossing the border , then they would have found nothing.
I keep certain files on my laptop encrypted also. If I should lose, or get my computer stolen, I don’t want my personal data to fall into the wrong hands. Identity theft is a costly thing to fix.
I’m certainly not in favor of child porn but I do want my own personal computer files to be private.
It appears to me to also be an invasion of privacy. I would think that if the computer does not contain a bomb, it should be of no concern to the border people.