Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucsd!nosc!cod!lalor
From: lalor@cod.NOSC.MIL (Joe Lalor)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: "Bad" backups
Message-ID: <2575@cod.NOSC.MIL>
Date: 13 Dec 90 18:28:29 GMT
References: <5081@trantor.harris-atd.com>
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego
Lines: 30

>>Booby-trapping your data is perfectly legal, unless you're
>>doing it to thwart a specific, ongoing law-enforcement investigation,
>>in which case it probably isn't.
> 
> What about keeping data encrypted with a secret password?  It seems like
> one could ``take the fifth'' and refuse to divulge the password on the
> grounds that it might incriminate.
> _______________
Mike's tried a couple of times to explain the law and his answer has
been the same each time, but the same questions that are just a 
different color keep coming up.  Since his answers don't seem to
to be getting the point across, I'll try with a simple one
sentence analysis:

If you maliciously try to conceal data (regardless of the how clever
your means are) to hinder an ongoing law-enforcement investigation,
you're breaking the law.

Encrypting data with a secret password (done all the time in military    
labs) is okay as long as you are not doing it to obstruct justice.
Taking the fifth, IMHO, in the above scenario could leas to contempt.

JOE LALOR
-apologies to Mike for any area above where I may have gone astray
from what he was trying to say-

Lalor@nosc.mil  
A

La