When it comes to the law, your information is only as secure as your encryption passphrase.
My computer is every hacker’s dream: chock-full of personal information that can be used in deliciously evil ways. Stored on my hard drive are electronic copies of my passport, previous tax returns, and a plethora of other files that contain sensitive information. If accessed, this information would allow someone to easily steal my identity or worse.
Thankfully, I encrypt those files (meaning the only person who has access to them is me). I am the only person that knows the encryption password (sometimes called a passphrase) used to decrypt my files for viewing. Without the password, the files cannot be accessed.
Hackers and personal information aside, let’s pretend the files I encrypted contain incriminating information. Hypothetically speaking, could someone use the law to force me to divulge my encryption password so they could access my files?
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