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There are some Linux builds that do this already. I have seen some systems with "Defcon passwords" where you have everything from green to red password reflecting normal operation to total destruction of hardware upon the "Defcon Five" password entered. One demo I saw, entering the "Defcon Five password" actually triggered and EMP blast on the hard disk wiping out the data physically.

The thing about that is that, if it's provable, the extremes you've gone through to protect your personal information could be used against you. This is especially true if they've got a warrant out for you over drug trafficking or child pornography.
 
Just turn off the phone or touch the button with a wrong finger for several times. Boom! Touch ID disabled. o_O
 
The thing about that is that, if it's provable, the extremes you've gone through to protect your personal information could be used against you. This is especially true if they've got a warrant out for you over drug trafficking or child pornography.

I have seen this countered in court with legitimate use such as sensitive financial data or confidential R&D data held. Again, there is a lot of Linux builds out there that do panic passwords. Why it is not implemented in more commercial systems such as Mac or Windows is probably an IP issue.
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Just turn off the phone or touch the button with a wrong finger for several times. Boom! Touch ID disabled. o_O

With the right pantomime, this could be pulled off.
 
I have seen this countered in court with legitimate use such as sensitive financial data or confidential R&D data held. Again, there is a lot of Linux builds out there that do panic passwords. Why it is not implemented in more commercial systems such as Mac or Windows is probably an IP issue.

There are plenty of legitimate excuses to have a panic setup like that. Even in a situation where it's presence is suspicious, it can't be used as evidence against someone by itself. It'd be like getting pulled over for speeding, and the cop catches you reformatting your smartphone while you're sitting in the car. Sure, it looks guilty as hell, but if he didn't pull you over for anything other than speeding, he can't arrest you, and say you were destroying evidence, since he had no reason to assume anything incriminating was on your smartphone. The act of taking even overly extreme measures to protect your data means nothing by itself, and can't be used against you.

...though he could probably use it as an excuse to search your vehicle. If he happens to find 10 kilos of coke in your trunk, it'll become a whole different story.

It's the same situation with a panic password, equipped with an EMP generator to wipe a harddrive. By itself it means nothing. But if the police have been investigating you because your name and internet activities have been traced to a few prominent child pornography chat rooms, it becomes something that could be thrown in your face in court, with your only defense being a compelling excuse that can be backed up with proof.
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Someone link to organized crimes or terrorism does not deserve to have any rights.

Everyone has rights, even the worst among us.
 
"Oh wait, was it this finger or that one? I don't remember..."

Court order prevailing, using the wrong finger is quickly seen as what is known as "contempt of court". Now if she can prove the court is corrupt or provide evidence that suggests the court is not acting evenhandedly or if there is a conflict of interest on the part of the court then a relevant cause for objection could be made... However, that seems unlikely.

It's like being a suspect for a murder trial and you keep your shovel locked in a closet. The victim (if such entities still exist anymore since some say everyone is a victim nowadays?) was bludgeoned to death with a shovel. You're innocent, your tool closet has three shovels but none contain the DNA of the dead person. Do you comply with the request? Why or why not?
 
If you're arrested for allegedly committing a crime and the courts order you to use your physical key to open a safe deposit box so they can examine the contents, is that legal? It seems like this case would be no different, with a key of a more modern kind being used to access the files.

Depends. Search warrants are supposed to be specific. Not a fishing expedition. Let's see what happens when someone with some bucks gets the same and can afford legal counsel to push back.
 
There are plenty of legitimate excuses to have a panic setup like that. Even in a situation where it's presence is suspicious, it can't be used as evidence against someone by itself. It'd be like getting pulled over for speeding, and the cop catches you reformatting your smartphone while you're sitting in the car. Sure, it looks guilty as hell, but if he didn't pull you over for anything other than speeding, he can't arrest you, and say you were destroying evidence, since he had no reason to assume anything incriminating was on your smartphone. The act of taking even overly extreme measures to protect your data means nothing by itself, and can't be used against you.

...though he could probably use it as an excuse to search your vehicle. If he happens to find 10 kilos of coke in your trunk, it'll become a whole different story.

It's the same situation with a panic password, equipped with an EMP generator to wipe a harddrive. By itself it means nothing. But if the police have been investigating you because your name and internet activities have been traced to a few prominent child pornography chat rooms, it becomes something that could be thrown in your face in court, with your only defense being a compelling excuse that can be backed up with proof.
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Everyone has rights, even the worst among us.

When you get a jail sentence you lose your right to be free. So, after all, people who commit crimes lose certain rights. That's the whole idea behind their punishment.
 
with a warrant i see no issue
A fingerprint can be compelled. The courts have decided this. You cannot be compelled to provide a password.
The difference is in the definition of self incrimination and something that exists without you needed to be a party. Your fingerprint exists and you can be compelled to provide a fingerprint as evidence. Forcing disclosure of a password, implies speech and that cannot be compelled.

When you get a jail sentence you lose your right to be free. So, after all, people who commit crimes lose certain rights. That's the whole idea behind their punishment.

No issue. If you a a criminal, lock with a passcode or reboot your phone.
It has nothing to do with being a criminal.... that line of thinking is silly and dangerous. How many people convicted of a crime have been proven innocent? Lots of them. Providing a fingerprint is NOT the same as using that fingerprint to open a phone.
 
Even if a cop asked you for your phone and he started thumbing through it, you realize any information they obtain would have been collected illegally. The dumbest public defender who took the bar 8 times while living in his mothers basement would be able to get that evidence thrown out. Secondly, the cop knows he'd have a lawsuit brought upon the city if he ever did that right?

I completely agree that anything pulled off my phone without my consent or a warrant would probably not be allowed in court. However, wasn't my concern. Like I said, I don't have anything on my phone (or anywhere else for that matter) that I am worried about getting me in legal trouble. However, I do know of instances where officers have gone on rummaging through a person's phone after a minor traffic stop (without a warrant or the owner's consent). The owners of the phones were upset about it but to the best of my knowledge all they did was file a complaint against the officer, they did not file a lawsuit.
 
I really don't think this is what the 5th amendment was for. If I commit a crime and a search warrant is served on my home, they can look in my computer, my filing cabinet, my underwear drawer.... how is a phone any different? Evidence is evidence. Pin codes? Yeah, if you had a murder weapon in a pin code locked safe, sure they can't make you give them the cod.... but they can and will drill out the lock and get in there. I'm all for privacy protection, but making a criminal give up a fingerprint?

And they could always take the fingerprints on file and use them. It is a simple and effective way to bypass a finger print sensor.
 
I have seen this countered in court with legitimate use such as sensitive financial data or confidential R&D data held. Again, there is a lot of Linux builds out there that do panic passwords. Why it is not implemented in more commercial systems such as Mac or Windows is probably an IP issue.
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With the right pantomime, this could be pulled off.
Turning off the phone is possible while it is locked. No pantomime required.

Once your phone is turned off, the encryption key enabling Touch ID access is deleted. So you will need to re-enter your passcode after you restart the phone.
 
Even if a cop asked you for your phone and he started thumbing through it, you realize any information they obtain would have been collected illegally. The dumbest public defender who took the bar 8 times while living in his mothers basement would be able to get that evidence thrown out. Secondly, the cop knows he'd have a lawsuit brought upon the city if he ever did that right?
Don't ruffle the tin foil hat crowd :)
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This is brutal. Wow. I don't even know what to say. This is complete 5th A BS.

Anyone who says "well don't commit crimes and you'll have nothing to worry about" is a complete tool.

China has never even considered this.

Looks like the US has officially become Room 101.
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That's why Japan does finger and retina now.
So what is only on your phone that isn't littered all over your digital life? How is a phone more private than your residence and contents , bank accounts etc. ? I just don't get this false sense that your phone is somehow unique and keeps your secrets.
If you are dumb enough to put incriminating content on a phone then break the law, you deserve whatever happens to you.
 
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So what is only on your phone that isn't littered all over your digital life? How is a phone more private than your residence and contents , bank accounts etc. ? I just don't get this false sense that your phone is somehow unique and keeps your secrets.
If you are dumb enough to put incriminating content on a phone then break the law, you deserve whatever happens to you.
If what's on your phone is littered all over your digital life then the cops don't need access to your phone. Case closed.

The phone is not unique. There are many ways to keep your secrets that the government and authoritarians can't do anything about; Die Gedanken sind frei. You could keep a diary where each character is represented by a number which is a position on a random page (or multiple random pages) of a novel. If they don't know the which novel, they can't read the diary. They can seize the diary under warrant and keep it as evidence against you, but without the key, it doesn't help their case.

If you're smart enough to encrypt some or all of the contents of your phone so that the government can't access it without your passcode, then you deserve to keep your secrets secret, even if you commit a crime or if you are charged with some crime that you didn't commit.
 
I see no difference with a passcode. It's functional a key in your memory. If the judge decides that there's is probable cause for a search, I myself don't see a difference between a code and a fingerprint. If the cops come to your house with a search warrant, you have to open the door for them. Period. What I hate about people is that they always imagine these issues as if the law is totalitarian. A lawful warrant, based on sound principles, is the basis for rational, fair laws. The woman in this case is just the sort of person-- if she has done what is alleged-- who would keep the evidence on her smartphone. It's not a conviction. If the police don't find evidence, well, maybe they've got the wrong person. The 4th amendment made the person inviolable-- except with a warrant, for reasonable cause. That is part of the rule of law.
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If you're smart enough to encrypt some or all of the contents of your phone so that the government can't access it without your passcode, then you deserve to keep your secrets secret, even if you commit a crime or if you are charged with some crime that you didn't commit.

You deserve to get away with it if you're smart? What is this, Nietzsche?
 
You deserve to get away with it if you're smart? What is this, Nietzsche?
You deserve to keep your secrets if you're smart enough to protect them. Secret from anyone who would use them against you (including governments and criminals).

Whether that means you get away with "it" is another question.

And if the government (or the criminals) manage to break your code and access your secrets, then they are no longer secrets and you weren't smart enough.
 
Well there you go. Privacy is essentially over, as is our fifth amendment right. Not an advocate for criminals but this slippery slope leads to a lot more than criminal persecution.


A warrant was issued to unlock the iPhone what privacy issue is there when the court did the right way it's like arguing well there should be a better way to open a can. If you are not a criminal than don't worry about unlocking iPhone other than you got nude photos of yourself. Can't understand why are people so paranoid when the Government has always been tapping everyones phones even when there was no cell phones just pay phones or land lines only.
 
I have to say, that this is a non issue, if you power off your phone you need to enter a passcode and touch ID doesn't work until you do.

I would think it possible that an option might be added to power off the phone or lock touch ID if a finger print is used that is not recognised.

You could then force a passcode either by someone else attempting to open it or clicking the home button or by you using a finger not registered. I think it makes sense and then you could not be compelled to self incriminate.
 
"Oh wait, was it this finger or that one? I don't remember..."

well it was "A finger" the question is which one.

The irony of all this with a finger we get at as "its clearly can't be protected" but when it came to FBI vs Apple case, people had no idea just because of "an act"

Comparing things is what i like to do :D
 
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