Privacy Guides
boosted
Microsoft Can Decrypt Your Computer Now #bitlocker #fyp #microsoft #security
Microsoft Can Decrypt Your Computer Now #bitlocker #fyp #microsoft #security
Jan :rust: :ferris:
boosted
"Early last year, the FBI served Microsoft with a search warrant, asking it to provide recovery keys to unlock encrypted data stored on three laptops. Federal investigators in Guam believed the devices held evidence that would help prove individuals handling the island’s Covid unemployment assistance program were part of a plot to steal funds.
The data was protected with BitLocker, software that’s automatically enabled on many modern Windows PCs to safeguard all the data on the computer’s hard drive. BitLocker scrambles the data so that only those with a key can decode it.
It’s possible for users to store those keys on a device they own, but Microsoft also recommends BitLocker users store their keys on its servers for convenience. While that means someone can access their data if they forget their password, or if repeated failed attempts to login lock the device, it also makes them vulnerable to law enforcement subpoenas and warrants.
In the Guam case, it handed over the encryption keys to investigators."
#CyberSecurity #Encryption #Microsoft #FBI #Privacy #BitLocker
Em :official_verified:
boosted
#Microsoft Gave #FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major #Privacy Flaw
#Microsoft Gave #FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major #Privacy Flaw
"Early last year, the FBI served Microsoft with a search warrant, asking it to provide recovery keys to unlock encrypted data stored on three laptops. Federal investigators in Guam believed the devices held evidence that would help prove individuals handling the island’s Covid unemployment assistance program were part of a plot to steal funds.
The data was protected with BitLocker, software that’s automatically enabled on many modern Windows PCs to safeguard all the data on the computer’s hard drive. BitLocker scrambles the data so that only those with a key can decode it.
It’s possible for users to store those keys on a device they own, but Microsoft also recommends BitLocker users store their keys on its servers for convenience. While that means someone can access their data if they forget their password, or if repeated failed attempts to login lock the device, it also makes them vulnerable to law enforcement subpoenas and warrants.
In the Guam case, it handed over the encryption keys to investigators."
#CyberSecurity #Encryption #Microsoft #FBI #Privacy #BitLocker
Idzie
boosted
Forbes: Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said it receives around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year and will provide them to governments in response to valid court orders. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
Forbes: Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw
The tech giant said it receives around 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year and will provide them to governments in response to valid court orders. But companies like Apple and Meta set up their systems so such a privacy violation isn’t possible.
Windows is still uploading recovery keys to #Microsoft cloud accounts…
So while you are doing your password-manager magic (I hope)… Microsoft just hand the #bitlocker recovery over on a royal plate…
Maybe some extra devices can be seized by the FBI… only investigating Washington Post journalists can become a bit boring…
“What if I Simply put tailscale in initramfs?”: statements dreamed up by the utterly deranged (that is, @jyn ). Very cool blog post on remotely unlocking an encrypted boot partition: https://jyn.dev/remotely-unlocking-an-encrypted-hard-disk/
@rixx @jyn or: install #bitlocker.
Microsoft Gave FBI BitLocker Encryption Keys, Exposing Privacy Flaw
Chewie
boosted
TechCrunch, Forbes - In response to a search warrant, Microsoft gave Bitlocker recovery keys to FBI, for three laptops FBI seized while investigating fraud in Guam.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/23/microsoft-gave-fbi-a-set-of-bitlocker-encryption-keys-to-unlock-suspects-laptops-reports/ and https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/01/22/microsoft-gave-fbi-keys-to-unlock-bitlocker-encrypted-data/
FBI was investigating covid unemployment insurance fraud in Guam. I don't use Bitlocker, so I can't speak from experience; the articles say the default is keys backed up to MS servers in "the cloud", though users can choose to back up keys locally -- say, to a removable drive. As usual, most people stay with the default.
Camel's nose, thin end of the wedge, slippery slope, etc. As the Forbes article says, quoting Matt Green: “My experience is, once the U.S. government gets used to having a capability, it's very hard to get rid of it.”
@larsrosenquist @jwildeboer yes.
Which means that bitlocker is not a full disk encryption system since... It obviously doesn't allow you to protect your data against eavesdropping
Salut @benjamin
No it's not. On my work laptop*, the C:/ partition only is 'encrypted' by #BitLocker and the D:/ partition isn't since it's used by OneDrive or so I've been told by the IS folks.
*the first #Windows laptop I even touch since 2006. Feel my pain...
Microsoft and BitLocker: If you have access to keys, eventually governments are going to come. And MS provided the keys https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/01/22/microsoft-gave-fbi-keys-to-unlock-bitlocker-encrypted-data/
@CCC If you give your secret key to someone, your key has been leaked.
It's obvious and it's not news.
Benjamin Sonntag-King
and 1 other
boosted
Don’t call it a backdoor when it’s a default option to upload your secret keys.
Windows is still uploading recovery keys to #Microsoft cloud accounts…
So while you are doing your password-manager magic (I hope)… Microsoft just hand the #bitlocker recovery over on a royal plate…
Maybe some extra devices can be seized by the FBI… only investigating Washington Post journalists can become a bit boring…
Don’t call it a backdoor when it’s a default option to upload your secret keys.
TechCrunch, Forbes - In response to a search warrant, Microsoft gave Bitlocker recovery keys to FBI, for three laptops FBI seized while investigating fraud in Guam.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/23/microsoft-gave-fbi-a-set-of-bitlocker-encryption-keys-to-unlock-suspects-laptops-reports/ and https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/01/22/microsoft-gave-fbi-keys-to-unlock-bitlocker-encrypted-data/
FBI was investigating covid unemployment insurance fraud in Guam. I don't use Bitlocker, so I can't speak from experience; the articles say the default is keys backed up to MS servers in "the cloud", though users can choose to back up keys locally -- say, to a removable drive. As usual, most people stay with the default.
Camel's nose, thin end of the wedge, slippery slope, etc. As the Forbes article says, quoting Matt Green: “My experience is, once the U.S. government gets used to having a capability, it's very hard to get rid of it.”
Microsoft is handing over Bitlocker keys to law enforcement. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/01/22/microsoft-gave-fbi-keys-to-unlock-bitlocker-encrypted-data/
@matthew_d_green
Do people who use #Windows know what this means? #Bitlocker is the full drive encryption. Outrageous to betray users like this. #fascist #authoritarianism