Computer Encryption
Cheryl Dong
Naima Ritter
Hayden Bottoms
Jennifer Kozin
Brittany James
What is Encryption?
 Encryption:
to alter using a secret
code so as to be unintelligible to
unauthorized parties
 People encrypt computers to keep
files secure.
 To “decrypt” a computer is to render
the code into plain text. To do this, a
key or a password is needed.
The Boucher Case

Sebastian Boucher was crossing the Canadian border
when a customs official stopped his car and asked to
see his computer.
 On drive Z of the computer, the customs official found
child pornography.
 Sebastian Boucher was arrested and his computer
was seized.
 The computer was shut down, and since then, officials
have not been able to access drive Z, which is
encrypted by PGP (pretty good protection).
 It would take years to decrypt the computer.
 Boucher currently does not have to give his password
because it is a violation of his 5th Amendment Rights.
Precedence



If Boucher does not have to
give his password, what
precedence does that set
for other criminal cases
involving encrypted
evidence?
Would you want this man to
get off free just because all
evidence against him was
encrypted?
If the case is ruled in favor
of Boucher, it would create
a medium of
communication between
criminals that cannot be
monitored or used as court
evidence against them!
The Fifth Amendment

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or
indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in
the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in
actual service in time of War or public danger; nor
shall any person be subject for the same offence to be
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor shall private
property be taken for public use, without just
compensation.
What does the 5th Amendment
actually protect against?




Under the Fifth Amendment, there is no protection for
being asked to speak words for voice identification in
the context of a criminal court case under the
justification that what is incriminating about this task is
not the actual words spoken but the physical features
of the action.
Similarly, what is self incriminating in the Boucher
case is not the password itself, but the material that is
on his computer.
Boucher already waived his 5th Amendment rights in
writing during the initial search of his computer.
Boucher has already incriminated himself by showing
child pornography to the border guards, therefore the
5th Amendment should not protect his password.
Should digital media be treated
differently from other media?

Documents the
courts know to exist
are not covered by
the Fifth Amendment,
digital or not, and
they should have to
be produced.
 It makes no
difference that the
data is digital. It still
exists physically on
Boucher’s computer.
Is the 5th Amendment outdated?



Amendment V of the United
States Constitution: No
person shall be required to
testify against himself in a
criminal case; ratified in 1791.
The amendment was made
originally to protect prisoners
from having confessions
tortured out of them.
Our forefathers could not have
foreseen the digital age and
the amendment needs to be
updated to accommodate new
technology.
The Fourth Amendment

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches
and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants
shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized.”
 The same applies to digital media. If there is a warrant
and probable cause, why should it be excluded?
 The documents on Drive Z are essentially digitalized
papers, and the Fourth Amendment needs to be
adapted to modern technology as well.
 In the Boucher case, there is known to be child
pornography on his computer so a search is
warranted.
Summary




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If the courts set the precedent that criminals do
not have to decrypt their computers, it creates a
medium of evidence that the government cannot
access.
The 5th Amendment needs to be interpreted
differently in the digital age.
The password itself does not incriminate Boucher,
the hard evidence on his computer does.
Digital media should not be treated any differently
from other forms of evidence.
The Fourth Amendment allows for search and
seizure with probable cause.
References

http://www.cqpress.com/incontext/constitution/images/
Scene_at_the_Signing_of_the_Constitution_of_the_U
nited_States.jpg
 www.dnsny.com/images/comp_encrpt.jpg
 www.downwiththeinternet.wordpress.com
 http://www.volokh.com/files/Boucher.pdf
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/01/15/AR2008011503663.htm
l
 http://www.rcarterpittman.org/essays/Bill_of_Rights/Fif
th_Amendment.html

http://www.slate.com/?id=2061972