Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!a577
From: a577@mindlink.UUCP (Curt Sampson)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Evidence (was Re: Musing on Constitutionality)
Message-ID: <3085@mindlink.UUCP>
Date: 7 Sep 90 19:02:35 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Lines: 29

> spaf@cs.purdue.EDU writes:
> 
> That's one reason why, when something is under investigation, they
> continue to hold the system long after the search warrant has been
> executed -- if an indictment is brought later, they need the system as
> evidence in the trial.  If a challenge is made by the defendant about
> the material introduced as evidence, the prosecution needs to be able
> to fire up the system in the courtroom to prove their point.

The problem with this, and allowing originals but not copies to be used as
evidence, is that it's so easy to change the original undetectably!  If I have
some files on disk, it's very easy for pretty much anybody to go in and change
files with a text editor, and who would ever know?  If it's on an IBM you can
set the system date and time to absolutely anything you like with a simple DOS
command.
I guess that this is yet another reason we need the EFF.

Incidently, were I to use my computer to do anything illegal, I certainly
wouldn't be foolish enough to leave my data on disk where anybody could see it.
For sixty or seventy dollars you can buy a copy of PC-Tools and DES encrypt all
of your important files.  There are any number of programs around that will let
you encrypt files for free (PKZIP with the -s option, for example), though I'm
not sure how secure these are.  With PC-Tools you just have to do a COMPRESS
(which defragments the disk and clears all empty clusters) after you encrypt
all of your sensitive stuff and presto, no evidence.  I think that the ease of
encrypting data (and then making multiple copies of it in case of loss) is
going to make law enforcement's job a lot tougher in the future.

        -cjs    ( Curt_Sampson@mindlink.UUCP )