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  • Re: Decryption demands at the UK border vs. cloud storage

    From Roger Hayter@21:1/5 to All on Sat Mar 22 10:10:22 2025
    On 22 Mar 2025 at 02:42:24 GMT, "J Newman" <jenniferkatenewman@gmail.com> wrote:

    In a number of countries (USA, UK) border control agents have the power
    to demand the decryption of encrypted data or copy it for further analysis.

    Given that nefarious actors can just put the data in encrypted form in
    the cloud and travel with nothing incriminating, what is the point of
    the law?

    A bit of a non-sequitur. There will be at least traffic and contact
    information on the device they are carrying. And the cloud data will not be of much use to them if they don't carry the keys to decrypt it.

    --

    Roger Hayter

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From billy bookcase@21:1/5 to J Newman on Sat Mar 22 10:04:42 2025
    "J Newman" <jenniferkatenewman@gmail.com> wrote in message news:vrl82g$2t79j$1@dont-email.me...
    In a number of countries (USA, UK) border control agents have the power to demand the
    decryption of encrypted data or copy it for further analysis.

    Given that nefarious actors can just put the data in encrypted form in the cloud and
    travel with nothing incriminating, what is the point of the law?


    The fact that they have such a power, assuming that they do, in no way
    implies that they will always use it.

    Only that in circumstances where they suspect, for whatever reason
    that it may prove useful, they do indeed have that power.


    bb

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Pancho@21:1/5 to Roger Hayter on Sat Mar 22 10:51:56 2025
    On 3/22/25 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
    On 22 Mar 2025 at 02:42:24 GMT, "J Newman" <jenniferkatenewman@gmail.com> wrote:

    In a number of countries (USA, UK) border control agents have the power
    to demand the decryption of encrypted data or copy it for further analysis. >>
    Given that nefarious actors can just put the data in encrypted form in
    the cloud and travel with nothing incriminating, what is the point of
    the law?

    A bit of a non-sequitur. There will be at least traffic and contact information on the device they are carrying. And the cloud data will not be of
    much use to them if they don't carry the keys to decrypt it.


    With good security, the device could be blank, nothing more than a dumb terminal. Access information for cloud services could be committed to
    memory.

    I guess the real point, is to catch the middling nefarious actors that
    are lazy/do not expect to be stopped.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Martin Brown@21:1/5 to Roger Hayter on Sat Mar 22 13:44:58 2025
    On 22/03/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
    On 22 Mar 2025 at 02:42:24 GMT, "J Newman" <jenniferkatenewman@gmail.com> wrote:

    In a number of countries (USA, UK) border control agents have the power
    to demand the decryption of encrypted data or copy it for further analysis. >>
    Given that nefarious actors can just put the data in encrypted form in
    the cloud and travel with nothing incriminating, what is the point of
    the law?

    Not all actors are that smart. There must be some people dumb enough to
    tick the box on the US immigration form which asks (paraphrasing):

    "Do you intend to overthrow the US government or kill the President?"

    Only an American or a lunatic would be dumb enough to tick that box!

    If you succeed in such a coup then prosecution is most unlikely.

    A bit of a non-sequitur. There will be at least traffic and contact information on the device they are carrying. And the cloud data will not be of
    much use to them if they don't carry the keys to decrypt it.

    You don't need to *carry *a key so long as your memory is still
    reasonably good and you have chosen a truly memorable "memorable phrase".

    --
    Martin Brown

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ian Jackson@21:1/5 to '''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk on Wed Mar 26 21:36:10 2025
    In message <vrmesr$2gb7$1@dont-email.me>, Martin Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> writes
    On 22/03/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
    On 22 Mar 2025 at 02:42:24 GMT, "J Newman" <jenniferkatenewman@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    In a number of countries (USA, UK) border control agents have the
    power
    to demand the decryption of encrypted data or copy it for further analysis. >>>
    Given that nefarious actors can just put the data in encrypted form in
    the cloud and travel with nothing incriminating, what is the point of
    the law?

    Not all actors are that smart. There must be some people dumb enough to
    tick the box on the US immigration form which asks (paraphrasing):

    "Do you intend to overthrow the US government or kill the President?"

    Only an American or a lunatic would be dumb enough to tick that box!

    If you succeed in such a coup then prosecution is most unlikely.

    Wasn't Noel Coward supposed to have appended : "Sole purpose of visit"?

    A bit of a non-sequitur. There will be at least traffic and contact
    information on the device they are carrying. And the cloud data will
    not be of
    much use to them if they don't carry the keys to decrypt it.

    You don't need to *carry *a key so long as your memory is still
    reasonably good and you have chosen a truly memorable "memorable
    phrase".


    --
    Ian
    Aims and ambitions are neither attainments nor achievements

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)