Recently, a woman convicted of real estate fraud was compelled to give up her encryption key because of believed evidence on the computer. Although they pleaded the fifth, the court still ruled in the prosecutor's favor. This decision later became moot when the Feds cracked the encrypted drive (For full details read the article at The Register).
This case then brings up how many and which rights are to be given up in the pursuit of justice in the information age. It is plain to see that technology has changed things, but once again I am brought back to whether or not the laws adequately reflect this. In Brazil, those convicted are compelled to give up their passwords to decrypt their drive as well, but the punishment is to spend only one month in prison. For many criminals, that is a small price to pay for the millions they have embezzled.
What do you think? Should people be compelled to decrypt their information? If so, what should be the punishment if they don't? If not, how will we catch these high-end criminals?
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