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From: shields@yunexus.YorkU.CA (Paul Shields)
Newsgroups: alt.security,alt.hackers
Subject: Re: Computer system seizures
Summary: the preamble to the story of how John the Usurper became Ex-Hacker
Message-ID: <14418@yunexus.YorkU.CA>
Date: 29 Aug 90 08:20:29 GMT
References: <8580@ccncsu.ColoState.EDU>
Sender: news@yunexus.YorkU.CA
Organization: York U. Computing Services
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Approved: The Mighty Systems Team

[cross-posted to alt.hackers. please followup appropriately.]

wendt@ives.cs.colostate.edu (alan l wendt) writes:
>Does anyone know how many systems were seized as "evidence" by the FBI
>last year?  I've heard that this figure was published recently but I
>missed it.

Look in a recent Harpers Magazine (don't know which.)

>Does anyone make an encrypting BIOS that maintains everything on the
>disk (except for the boot area) in encrypted form, and asks you for
>the password on power-up?  Such a BIOS would complicate things for
>the Federales as they seize our property.

Actually, I and a colleague wrote such a thing in 1985 for the PC. It
was called Resident Encryption Scheme -- a device driver which trapped
the disk I/O calls and encrypted/decrypted a partition on the disk. It
was never marketed, because of the following deficiencies:

  a) it wasn't secure;
  b) it was slow;
  c) the market remaining after (a) and (b) would pirate it.

And as a matter of fact, a cracker I happened to be acquainted with at
the time managed to obtain a copy of the software (without my
permission) and used it (without my knowledge) in his escapades.

This led to the first successful test of the product.

If you're interested in the full story, I'll write my memoirs
someday, or you can phone me at home.
-- 
Paul Shields
shields@nccn.yorku.ca