Courts are having trouble dealing with computer searches

My boss’s boss’s counterpart over at Stanford writes in _Wired_ about how courts are doing a very bad job of limiting the scope of computer searches. My laptop was purchased by Harvard, but I’ve got my entire life on it, and according to some recent rulings government agents have the right to search it without cause at any time. And instead of the standard limits placed on warrants which specify the scope of the search and the evidence being collected, with laptops often the entire hard drive can be trolled for anything potentially incriminating, even if it is well outside the scope of the original investigation.

4 replies on “Courts are having trouble dealing with computer searches”

  1. I agree that encryption is a good road bump in this case, either because the investigators need to get the credentials from the user, from the company, or have to break the encryption somehow (which is probably a possibility for larger agencies but far less likely for local law enforcement).

    But while encryption slows things done, does it prevent them entirely? Isn’t it likely that the owner of the computer will be forced (or persuaded) to turn over the credentials, even if some sort of court action is ongoing?

  2. I understand that the US govt has been occasionally confiscating laptops when citizens return to the country from their travels. I believe that the Bush Admin. takes the stance that looking into any hardrive coming into the country is fair game in the war on terrorism.

    The article may have been in the WSJ. I think the fellow in question had some sort of porn on his work computer, and ended up in jail as a result of the search conducted when he returned from vacation with his laptop.

    Encrypted or not, a good back up of your computer (life) is certainly not a bad idea.

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