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The lesson here is not to avoid clicking random links, because that is an unrealistic expectation. So what is the lesson? Realize that you can get raided at a

The lesson here is not to avoid clicking random links, because that is an unrealistic expectation. So what is the lesson? Realize that you can get raided at any time, without any warning, due to random life circumstances. Live life accordingly.

TallGuyShort 7y ago
Agreed. My first thought was that this makes it incredibly easy for one rogue person in the right place in government and minimal skills covering their own tracks to get anyone they want raided.
amelius 7y ago
Encrypt your harddrives, and have some plausible deniability in case they want the encryption keys. E.g.: I'm researching pseudo random numbers, and my harddrives are full of them. Or use hidden partitions, or something like that.
- tantalor 7y ago
  Getting better at lying to law enforcement is probably not the right lesson to take away.
  - deathanatos 7y ago
    In addition, and in this specific case, it's a lie that is easily discoverable. Just because your data is encrypted does not mean that it all looks random. For example, AIUI, LUKS has a partition header that contains a magic number, identifying it as a LUKS partition. Additionally, GPT's "partition type" field can identify the partition as a LUKS volume.
- alasdair_ 7y ago
  “This police raid has been extremely stressful and I can’t remember” is a perfectly valid statement.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- skrause 7y ago
  The better advice is to know the laws of the country you're in. For example in Germany you can simply refuse to give them your password and they can't use that against you in any way. No need for a reason or plausible deniability. The same strategy wouldn't work in the UK. Here is an overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_disclosure_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_disclosure_law
kozhevnikov 7y ago
And your calls and movements were surveilled for weeks prior to that.
- geek_at 7y ago
  To be honest that fact felt the most violating in this whole ordeal for me
sevenf0ur 7y ago
I was raided (secret service) thanks to a boneheaded roommate. Woke up to guns drawn and shouting. My advice: * Don't talk to the police * Maintain off site backups because they will take everything, even the whole machine in my case * Encrypt everything, this event really reinforced that for me
- andai 7y ago
  I've been hearing stories of people being detained for refusing to decrypt their drives. And the author writes: > I was also asked for my password and if I had any encrypted data on my PC
  - sevenf0ur 7y ago
    You should first consult with an attorney before making any statement to the police, much less handling over incriminating evidence. I'd rather keep the option open to fight over it in court than just giving up the key and hoping that the police will view it in my favor. Also, encryption is a must in case of theft.
    - withinboredom 7y ago
      In some countries, lying or withholding information is a crime itself. The USA is fairly unique with the "right to remain silent."
      - giancarlostoro 7y ago
        Sometimes saying anything at all might incriminate you because you're the only suspect. Don't talk to cops without a lawyer basically is the way to go in the USA.
        mikekchar 7y ago
        In Japan, you are currently allowed a lawyer to be present when being questioned, but it wasn't that long ago that you weren't. However, there was a bit of a hack: you were guaranteed to have a translator. It didn't matter how good your Japanese language skills were, you could demand a translator (assuming you spoke another language!) and they had to be present during all interrogation. While not as good as a lawyer, at least you had a witness if something untoward happened during the interrogation (which was apparently quite common in those times). I have heard that since the latest reforms in the last 10 years (lawyers present during questioning and allowance of a trial by jury) the incidence of untoward occurrences has decreased. While police here are an extremely friendly feature in society (very different than any other country I've lived in), you definitely don't want to get on the wrong side of the law one way or the other.

TallGuyShort 7y ago

Agreed. My first thought was that this makes it incredibly easy for one rogue person in the right place in government and minimal skills covering their own tracks to get anyone they want raided.

amelius 7y ago

Encrypt your harddrives, and have some plausible deniability in case they want the encryption keys. E.g.: I'm researching pseudo random numbers, and my harddrives are full of them. Or use hidden partitions, or something like that.

tantalor 7y ago
Getting better at lying to law enforcement is probably not the right lesson to take away.
- deathanatos 7y ago
  In addition, and in this specific case, it's a lie that is easily discoverable. Just because your data is encrypted does not mean that it all looks random. For example, AIUI, LUKS has a partition header that contains a magic number, identifying it as a LUKS partition. Additionally, GPT's "partition type" field can identify the partition as a LUKS volume.
alasdair_ 7y ago
“This police raid has been extremely stressful and I can’t remember” is a perfectly valid statement.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
skrause 7y ago
The better advice is to know the laws of the country you're in. For example in Germany you can simply refuse to give them your password and they can't use that against you in any way. No need for a reason or plausible deniability. The same strategy wouldn't work in the UK. Here is an overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_disclosure_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_disclosure_law

kozhevnikov 7y ago

And your calls and movements were surveilled for weeks prior to that.

geek_at 7y ago
To be honest that fact felt the most violating in this whole ordeal for me

sevenf0ur 7y ago

I was raided (secret service) thanks to a boneheaded roommate. Woke up to guns drawn and shouting. My advice: * Don't talk to the police * Maintain off site backups because they will take everything, even the whole machine in my case * Encrypt everything, this event really reinforced that for me

andai 7y ago
I've been hearing stories of people being detained for refusing to decrypt their drives. And the author writes: > I was also asked for my password and if I had any encrypted data on my PC
- sevenf0ur 7y ago
  You should first consult with an attorney before making any statement to the police, much less handling over incriminating evidence. I'd rather keep the option open to fight over it in court than just giving up the key and hoping that the police will view it in my favor. Also, encryption is a must in case of theft.
  - withinboredom 7y ago
    In some countries, lying or withholding information is a crime itself. The USA is fairly unique with the "right to remain silent."
    - giancarlostoro 7y ago
      Sometimes saying anything at all might incriminate you because you're the only suspect. Don't talk to cops without a lawyer basically is the way to go in the USA.
      - mikekchar 7y ago
        In Japan, you are currently allowed a lawyer to be present when being questioned, but it wasn't that long ago that you weren't. However, there was a bit of a hack: you were guaranteed to have a translator. It didn't matter how good your Japanese language skills were, you could demand a translator (assuming you spoke another language!) and they had to be present during all interrogation. While not as good as a lawyer, at least you had a witness if something untoward happened during the interrogation (which was apparently quite common in those times). I have heard that since the latest reforms in the last 10 years (lawyers present during questioning and allowance of a trial by jury) the incidence of untoward occurrences has decreased. While police here are an extremely friendly feature in society (very different than any other country I've lived in), you definitely don't want to get on the wrong side of the law one way or the other.