Federal agents got a search warrant, searched fricosu s home, and seized three laptop computers. Encryption software already exists which allows a user to create a hidden volume within an encrypted volume. Ramona fricosu, accused of committing financial fraud, is currently in a court battle fighting to keep her encrypted data private. In whatcott, the prosecutors wanted defendant ramona fricosu to decrypt her laptop to make the contents of the laptop available to the government. Legal solutions blog fifth amendment in the digital age. In 2012, a colorado woman was ordered to unlock her. A colorado woman was ordered to unlock her encrypted toshiba laptop while the fbi was investigating alleged mortgage fraud in 2012, but she declined to decrypt the laptop saying that she did not remember the password. He continues to battle the government in court regarding export law and works as a professor at the university of chicago.
Judge robert blackburn ordered accused fraudster ramona fricosu to release a decrypted version of her computers hard drive. Whatcott is an ongoing federal case regarding mortgage fraud that poses an interesting question regarding the scope of the fifth amendment in the digital age. Judge rules americans can be forced to decrypt their laptop computers. An agent who turned on the encrypted computer saw the disk encryption screen, which identified the computer as rs. Sep, 2018 if you are among thousands of privacyconscious people who are still using no longer available truecrypt encryption software, then you need to pay attention.
A tale of two encryption cases electronic frontier foundation. Woman must turn over computer hard drive technology. The government wants a colorado court to compel ramona fricosu, who is accused of a mortgage scam, into. Federal prosecutors say guide prepared by electronic frontier foundation buttresses their position on whether americans can be forced to. Us court test for rights not to hand over crypto keys the. One of the computers was encrypted and two were not. Circuit court of appeals on tuesday refused to get involved in the case involving ramona fricosu of colorado springs, who has until monday. Federal prosecutors say guide prepared by electronic frontier foundation buttresses their position on whether americans can be forced to divulge. In holding as he did, judge blackburn reasoned that this recorded phone conversation referencing a passwordprotected computer, in addition to the fact that the relevant laptop was identified as rs. Federal judge orders defendant to reveal pgp password to law. Prosecutors are keen to discover what is on the encrypted laptop of ramona fricosu, a colorado woman accused of committing financial fraud. The authorities seized the laptop from defendant ramona fricosu in 2010 with a court warrant while investigating financial fraud. Federal judge orders defendant to reveal pgp password to. Pdf that ramona fricosu could be forced to decrypt information on a computer seized by law enforcement in connection with a mortgage fraud case.
The government hopes this information will include evidence of allegedly criminal activity it can use to prosecute this case. Jan 24, 2012 in a case that may set a controversial precedent, a woman accused of financial fraud was ordered by a court to provide the prosecution incriminatory data stored on her encrypted laptop computer. Fricosu, of colorado springs, now has until monday to turn over an unencrypted version of the hard drive of a laptop. A tale of two encryption cases electronic frontier. Information technology and ethicsencryptioncryptography. Computer encryption software is no longer for the technologically advanced. District court of colorado ruled on monday that a defendant must decrypt her laptop computer so that prosecutors can open the files containing data they need to complete building their case against her on may 14, 2010, the federal government executed search warrants at the home of ramona fricosu in peyton, colorado, looking for evidence in a case. Judge rules americans can be forced to decrypt their.
In particular, an indictment returned by a denver grand jury on oct. Jul 22, 2011 doj takes swipe at eff over encryption passphrases. Sep 04, 2016 bernstein has been challenging the courts regarding the export of cryptography software since 1995. This readily available software allows average computer users to transform plain text into indecipherable symbols, inaccessible to anyone without a password.
Judge rules americans can be forced to testify against. Jan 26, 2012 on may 14, 2010, the federal government executed search warrants at the home of ramona fricosu in peyton, colorado, looking for evidence in a case involving bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering as part of a real estate scam in which she and a partner were allegedly involved. Fricosu talked to her exhusband and codefendant in jail. Doj takes swipe at eff over encryption passphrases. Fricosu, of colorado springs, has until monday to turn over an unencrypted version of the hard drive of a laptop.
The case has raised interesting questions of whether you can be forced by law to hand over your password, or decrypt your computer. Deadline looms for woman to turn over hard drive technology. Discussion in privacy technology started by paranoid eye, aug 1, 2014. Two critical security vulnerabilities have been discovered in the most famous encryption tool, truecrypt, that could expose the users data to hackers if exploited.
Mar 14, 2012 the eleventh circuit court of appeals ruled last month that forced decryption is selfincrimination. The laptop was originally seized from defendant ramona fricosu in 2010 while authorities. Sep 05, 2011 in particular, an indictment returned by a denver grand jury on oct. Encryption software already exists which allows a user to create a hidden volume. Forbes takes privacy seriously and is committed to transparency. In colorado, a district court reached the opposite conclusion, and ordered ramona fricosu to decrypt her laptop, or face contempt charges. But that seems to be no impediment for government prosecutors.
Ramona fricosu unsuccessfully argued that turning off the disk encryption option bultin to many windows, mac os and linux computers violates protection against selfincrimination under. Judge rules americans can be forced to testify against themselves. The san franciscobased electronic freedom foundation has opposed the governments actions in the case because it believes easytouse encryption software should be used by everybody to prevent. After truecrypt mysteriously discontinued its service, veracrypt became the most popular open source disk encryption software used by activists, journalists, as well as privacy conscious people. After this order, ramona fricosus lawyer said she may have forgotten the password. Bernstein has been challenging the courts regarding the export of cryptography software since 1995. The government wants a colorado court to compel ramona fricosu, who is accused of a mortgage scam, into either turning over the passphrase. Doj takes swipe at eff over encryption passphrases cnet. Sep 19, 2014 a district court judge in colorado ruled pdf that ramona fricosu could be forced to decrypt information on a computer seized by law enforcement in connection with a mortgage fraud case. Mar 02, 2012 ramona fricosu was indicted in 2010 for bank fraud connected to what authorities allege was a mortgage scam targeting people facing foreclosure. Alleged fraudster has until next week to decrypt her hard.
With a few clicks of the mouse, readily available 256bit and 512bit encryption software makes computer hard drives almost. Colorado woman must turn over computer password cbs. Ramona fricosu was indicted in 2010 for bank fraud connected to what authorities allege was a mortgage scam targeting people facing foreclosure. Order to decrypt laptop does not violate defendants fifth. Dubois described fricosu as an immigrant from romania who has two sons, no technical expertise in computers and whose computer was encrypted with what he believed was software. The defendant, ramona fricosu of colorado, is charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and providing false statements to financial institutions in connection with her alleged involvement in fraudulent real estate transactions with her husband. Remember the infamous encryption fight between the fbi and apple for unlocking an iphone belonging to terrorist syed farook behind the san bernardino 2015 mass shooting that killed 14 people. If the government is able to force people to turn over their encryption passwords, it is able to force people. Denver the blaze ap the saga continues of a colorado woman who was arrested for real estate fraud and ordered by the court to decrypt her laptop, which is believed to have incriminating evidence. On july 8, 2011, the eff filed an amicus brief eff amicus supporting a defendant, ramona fricosu. Feb 22, 2012 readily available, easytouse software can encrypt a computer hard drive so thoroughly it would take years for a hacker to break in. The government is overreaching to try to compel fricosu to supply an encryption password that they hope will give them access to the full contents of a laptop. Readily available, easytouse software can encrypt a computer hard drive so thoroughly it would take years for a hacker to break in.
Mar 01, 2012 dubois described fricosu as an immigrant from romania who has two sons, no technical expertise in computers and whose computer was encrypted with what he believed was software available on the. A district court judge in colorado ruled pdf that ramona fricosu could be forced to decrypt information on a computer seized by law enforcement in connection with a. If you find yourself in a situation where the government is forcing you to decrypt a computer or provide an encryption key, be sure to let us know. Dubois described fricosu as an immigrant from romania who has two sons, no technical expertise in computers and whose computer was encrypted with what he believed was software available on the. First of all, there is no such thing as a perfect, bugfree software. What to do when your security is breached by someone with a badge. Doj wont challenge eleventh circuit decryption ruling. Col 2012, is a federal criminal case in colorado that addressed whether a person can be compelled to reveal his or her encryption passphrase or password, despite the u. Jul, 2011 us court test for rights not to hand over crypto keys. By the late 1990s, laws restricting export of encryption software were liberalized, pgp and other encryption hardware and software were no longer classified as munitions. Colorado woman denied appeal, still must provide authorities. Feds decrypt defendants laptop without her permission. Ramona fricosu was indicted in 2010 for bank fraud connected to what authorities allege was a mortgage scam.
The government seeks to force defendant ramona fricosu to enter a password into a laptop or otherwise provide access to encrypted data stored on that computer. The department of justice is attempting to compel a defendant to share her hard drive encryption. Just get a damn settop box and free yourself of your tvs crap software. What to do when your security is breached by someone with a. Colorado woman must turn over computer password cbs denver. Jan 09, 2012 ramona fricosu, accused of committing financial fraud, is currently in a court battle fighting to keep her encrypted data private. Then get some wholedrive encryption software and never, ever. During the investigation, the government seized an encrypted laptop from the home she shares with her family, and then asked the court to compel fricosu to type the password into the computer or turn over a decrypted version of her data. The prosecution say that if the government fail to demand data.
Jul 14, 2011 the department of justice is attempting to compel a defendant to share her hard drive encryption. Fricosus attorneys had argued that doing so would mean testifying against herself, which is prohibited by the us bill of rights. Jan 24, 2012 the authorities seized the laptop from defendant ramona fricosu in 2010 with a court warrant while investigating financial fraud. Defendant claims that this would violate her fifth amendment rights. Circuit court of appeals refused to get involved, saying ramona fricosu s criminal case must first be resolved in district court before her attorney can appeal. Ramona fricosu was under investigation for her alleged involvement in a mortgage scam. When uncle sam can demand you decrypt laptop one issue is that by providing access, the defendant is admitting knowledge and control. Meanwhile, fricosu went to visit her husband, who was in jail at the time. Information technology and ethicsencryptioncryptography and. Us court test for rights not to hand over crypto keys. In both cases, the government offered the defendants limited immunity for the act of decrypting the computers, but not for the crimes that the. Thus, even if a defendant was ordered to produce a password or an unencrypted copy of a hard drive, the prosecution may still not find the evidence because they dont know that any hidden volumes exist on an encrypted drive. What to do when your security is breached by someone with.
Judge rules americans can be forced to decrypt their laptop. The justice department must have found the atlantabased appellate courts ruling thoughtful and compelling, because a doj spokesperson confirmed on wednesday that the department will not appeal the ruling, reports the wall street journal. A defendant in this case, ramona fricosu, is accused of fraudulent real estate transactions. Circuit court of appeals refused to get involved, saying ramona fricosu s criminal case must be resolved in district court before her attorney can appeal. In a case that may set a controversial precedent, a woman accused of financial fraud was ordered by a court to provide the prosecution incriminatory data. Workaround for the fifth amendment diversified risk management.
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