9 ms·

Has anyone tried a screen lock data wipe app? Put in the special pin or pattern on the lock screen and it deletes sensitive files. You can easily restore from t

Has anyone tried a screen lock data wipe app? Put in the special pin or pattern on the lock screen and it deletes sensitive files. You can easily restore from the cloud later.

salawat 8y ago
Congratulations. You just willfully destroyed evidence pertaining to an investigation. Enjoy your obstruction of justice charges. Also enjoy the spoliation inference the prosecutor can now use against you.
- agentdax5 8y ago
  How could they prove intent? Fudge the code twice then the third time wipe it and play dumb.
  - salawat 8y ago
    The court need only point to the fact you downloaded an app specifically meant to wipe your phone via an "oh crap" code. I mean, I get LE and the justice system is given a lot of crap for being behind the times, but cmon now. This is slam dunk tier legal argumentation here. I'm not even a lawyer and I'm pretty sure I could convince a judge on that point. If they issue a warrant for something, and you do something to what the warrant was issued for, you tampered with evidence. This is heavily frowned upon. Especially in the middle of a court room, right in front of a judge. If you want to send a message via civil disobedience, all power to you.Just understand, you're still going to have to deal with the consequences. I don't like it any more hand anyone else here, bit until you can sell a legislature on changing a bunch of this, in court is the absolute LAST place you want to make a stand on it. Judges are going to go with the least amount of reinterpretation to keep the system and Law Enforcement trucking. Law is made by legislatures. It's just the way it is.
    - draw_down 8y ago
      Yeah. It's funny that hackers (in the old sense) think they can just route around law with an app, or some code or whatever. Doesn't work that way.
    - c4h8o3del 8y ago
      > the fact you downloaded an app specifically meant to wipe your phone via an "oh crap" code. Are we now assuming PKI is fundamentally broken or that one were dumb enough to download an apk from a plain http site? I'm not going to address the rest of the comment as I don't feel like it, but they'd have to know in the first place.
- byoung2 8y ago
  In all the cases I've seen so far, people are being targeted for searches even before the investigation has begun. Traffic stop...let me search your phone. There would be an easy defense for wiping your phone if you are not even under investigation yet. In fact it is so easy to restore your phone why not just wipe it before the cop approaches.
SmallDeadGuy 8y ago
A better solution, maybe doable on jailbroken/rooted phones, would be to have one pin unlock into normal mode and one pin to unlock into a mode with all sensitive information hidden but looks like the normal mode. Again, I wouldn't advise actually doing this, but I like theorising.
- mc32 8y ago
  Japanese handis had that feature. Guys, especially, used them for their secret affairs and other things they wanted to keep under wraps.
  - splintercell 8y ago
    What's 'Japanese handis'? Googled it but couldn't find anything on it.
    - mc32 8y ago
      Sorry short for personal handy phone system or PHS, also known locally as keitai[1] [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_mobile_phone_culture https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_mobile_phone_cultur...
    - pasbesoin 8y ago
      In Germany, a mobile phone is called a "handy" (or, Handy, as it's a noun). I'm extrapolating that that term (beyond a German context, or maybe the commenter is German) is being used, here.
    - mc32 8y ago
      To get to the point, I think it was the systems that had a "2 in 1" with two PINs and you could unlock your "second phone" with the second pin and then make and receive calls from this hidden second number. Burner numbers I guess have replaced that need though.
Retra 8y ago
How about don't put evidence on your phone in the first place?
- stephengillie 8y ago
  OpSec protip: properly destroy burner phones - don't just toss them under the car seat.
- 13years 8y ago
  Evidence can be constructed from lots of other metadata. Your phone doesn't need to have a saved message "I did it"
  - Retra 8y ago
    That certainly doesn't invalidate anything I said.
jstarfish 8y ago
Standard procedure often involves imaging the phone/drive to mitigate stunts like this, so all you would be doing is proving your intent to destroy evidence. You'll be really fucked if they catch on and have their copy decrypted independently because the results will differ. The Android vs iPhone security debates always amuse me. Phone security altogether is a joke. Even podunk LE departments have contracts with Cellebrite...
- byoung2 8y ago
  It depends on the sequence of events. If you are already arrested and charged with a crime, and a warrant is issued, it's too late to wipe. But if the cops have you pulled over on the roadside and demand you unlock your phone, you should be able to wipe with impunity.

Has anyone tried a screen lock data wipe app? Put in the special pin or pattern on the lock screen and it deletes sensitive files. You can easily restore from the cloud later.

salawat 8y ago

Congratulations. You just willfully destroyed evidence pertaining to an investigation. Enjoy your obstruction of justice charges. Also enjoy the spoliation inference the prosecutor can now use against you.

agentdax5 8y ago
How could they prove intent? Fudge the code twice then the third time wipe it and play dumb.
- salawat 8y ago
  The court need only point to the fact you downloaded an app specifically meant to wipe your phone via an "oh crap" code. I mean, I get LE and the justice system is given a lot of crap for being behind the times, but cmon now. This is slam dunk tier legal argumentation here. I'm not even a lawyer and I'm pretty sure I could convince a judge on that point. If they issue a warrant for something, and you do something to what the warrant was issued for, you tampered with evidence. This is heavily frowned upon. Especially in the middle of a court room, right in front of a judge. If you want to send a message via civil disobedience, all power to you.Just understand, you're still going to have to deal with the consequences. I don't like it any more hand anyone else here, bit until you can sell a legislature on changing a bunch of this, in court is the absolute LAST place you want to make a stand on it. Judges are going to go with the least amount of reinterpretation to keep the system and Law Enforcement trucking. Law is made by legislatures. It's just the way it is.
  - draw_down 8y ago
    Yeah. It's funny that hackers (in the old sense) think they can just route around law with an app, or some code or whatever. Doesn't work that way.
  - c4h8o3del 8y ago
    > the fact you downloaded an app specifically meant to wipe your phone via an "oh crap" code. Are we now assuming PKI is fundamentally broken or that one were dumb enough to download an apk from a plain http site? I'm not going to address the rest of the comment as I don't feel like it, but they'd have to know in the first place.
byoung2 8y ago
In all the cases I've seen so far, people are being targeted for searches even before the investigation has begun. Traffic stop...let me search your phone. There would be an easy defense for wiping your phone if you are not even under investigation yet. In fact it is so easy to restore your phone why not just wipe it before the cop approaches.

SmallDeadGuy 8y ago

A better solution, maybe doable on jailbroken/rooted phones, would be to have one pin unlock into normal mode and one pin to unlock into a mode with all sensitive information hidden but looks like the normal mode. Again, I wouldn't advise actually doing this, but I like theorising.

mc32 8y ago
Japanese handis had that feature. Guys, especially, used them for their secret affairs and other things they wanted to keep under wraps.
- splintercell 8y ago
  What's 'Japanese handis'? Googled it but couldn't find anything on it.
  - mc32 8y ago
    Sorry short for personal handy phone system or PHS, also known locally as keitai[1] [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_mobile_phone_culture https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_mobile_phone_cultur...
  - pasbesoin 8y ago
    In Germany, a mobile phone is called a "handy" (or, Handy, as it's a noun). I'm extrapolating that that term (beyond a German context, or maybe the commenter is German) is being used, here.
  - mc32 8y ago
    To get to the point, I think it was the systems that had a "2 in 1" with two PINs and you could unlock your "second phone" with the second pin and then make and receive calls from this hidden second number. Burner numbers I guess have replaced that need though.

Retra 8y ago

How about don't put evidence on your phone in the first place?

stephengillie 8y ago
OpSec protip: properly destroy burner phones - don't just toss them under the car seat.
13years 8y ago
Evidence can be constructed from lots of other metadata. Your phone doesn't need to have a saved message "I did it"
- Retra 8y ago
  That certainly doesn't invalidate anything I said.

jstarfish 8y ago

Standard procedure often involves imaging the phone/drive to mitigate stunts like this, so all you would be doing is proving your intent to destroy evidence. You'll be really fucked if they catch on and have their copy decrypted independently because the results will differ. The Android vs iPhone security debates always amuse me. Phone security altogether is a joke. Even podunk LE departments have contracts with Cellebrite...

byoung2 8y ago
It depends on the sequence of events. If you are already arrested and charged with a crime, and a warrant is issued, it's too late to wipe. But if the cops have you pulled over on the roadside and demand you unlock your phone, you should be able to wipe with impunity.