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I wonder if it's legal to remote wipe your iPad with MobileMe after they've taken possession of it. Or what about "Oh, you're going to arrest me? Can I have one

by pieter 15y ago

I wonder if it's legal to remote wipe your iPad with MobileMe after they've taken possession of it. Or what about "Oh, you're going to arrest me? Can I have one second before you read my rights?" and then wipe it?

orborde 15y ago
Short answer: No. Destruction of evidence is a crime. See the second bolded point of the EFF's advice here: https://ssd.eff.org/your-computer/protect/retention https://ssd.eff.org/your-computer/protect/retention
Jco_ 15y ago
Or you can make sure nobody can access your data. Truecrypt, anyone ?
- mike-cardwell 15y ago
  This is why my next phone will be compatible with Whispercore (http://whispersys.com/whispercore.html http://whispersys.com/whispercore.html) and hopefully my next Tablet too. This is also why I automatically encrypt all of my incoming email with my public pgp key on the mail server. So any mail sat on my phone/laptop/server is encrypted with my password protected private pgp key (https://grepular.com/Automatically_Encrypting_all_Incoming_Email https://grepular.com/Automatically_Encrypting_all_Incoming_E...) I'm in the UK, so unfortunately they can demand that I give up my encryption keys and passwords and charge me if I choose to refuse, but at least it will slow them down enough so I can get a lawyer involved. And at least I have the choice of refusing.
  - VladRussian 15y ago
    >I'm in the UK, so unfortunately they can demand that I give up my encryption keys and passwords and charge me if I choose to refuse do they have the right to scan your brain if you forgot the password or produce the wrong one under the stress of the arrest (my hands shake, heart races and i have hard time finding insurance card lying in plain view in glove compartment even when i'm having a traffic stop, less hard to imagine how i'd feel when/if i'd be "arrested for questioning")?
    - zcid 15y ago
      No but they will send someone to jail if they refuse to give up the password. Think of it as a contempt charge. If they still can't remember after a few weeks or months, they can be charged again, go back to jail, and then repeat the process until they don't feel like dealing with the situation anymore (theoretically, it could turn into a life sentence composed of multiple smaller sentences).
shareme 15y ago
its going into the grey area. For example a former Novell executive always emptied his email inbox daily and deleted email after handling said email..he still works for Google Nothing says that when they get hold of the device that you have to give access to data on that device..however that enters contempt of court grounds if they do not believe the excuse you give for not remembering a password.

by pieter 15y ago

orborde 15y ago

Short answer: No. Destruction of evidence is a crime. See the second bolded point of the EFF's advice here: https://ssd.eff.org/your-computer/protect/retention https://ssd.eff.org/your-computer/protect/retention

Jco_ 15y ago

Or you can make sure nobody can access your data. Truecrypt, anyone ?

mike-cardwell 15y ago
This is why my next phone will be compatible with Whispercore (http://whispersys.com/whispercore.html http://whispersys.com/whispercore.html) and hopefully my next Tablet too. This is also why I automatically encrypt all of my incoming email with my public pgp key on the mail server. So any mail sat on my phone/laptop/server is encrypted with my password protected private pgp key (https://grepular.com/Automatically_Encrypting_all_Incoming_Email https://grepular.com/Automatically_Encrypting_all_Incoming_E...) I'm in the UK, so unfortunately they can demand that I give up my encryption keys and passwords and charge me if I choose to refuse, but at least it will slow them down enough so I can get a lawyer involved. And at least I have the choice of refusing.
- VladRussian 15y ago
  >I'm in the UK, so unfortunately they can demand that I give up my encryption keys and passwords and charge me if I choose to refuse do they have the right to scan your brain if you forgot the password or produce the wrong one under the stress of the arrest (my hands shake, heart races and i have hard time finding insurance card lying in plain view in glove compartment even when i'm having a traffic stop, less hard to imagine how i'd feel when/if i'd be "arrested for questioning")?
  - zcid 15y ago
    No but they will send someone to jail if they refuse to give up the password. Think of it as a contempt charge. If they still can't remember after a few weeks or months, they can be charged again, go back to jail, and then repeat the process until they don't feel like dealing with the situation anymore (theoretically, it could turn into a life sentence composed of multiple smaller sentences).

shareme 15y ago

its going into the grey area. For example a former Novell executive always emptied his email inbox daily and deleted email after handling said email..he still works for Google Nothing says that when they get hold of the device that you have to give access to data on that device..however that enters contempt of court grounds if they do not believe the excuse you give for not remembering a password.