If you use a technology called "encryption" properly, not even the government can read the information on your computer.
With encryption software, no one but you and your intended recipient can read your e-mail messages, text messages, instant messages, etc. You can even encrypt your entire hard disk to protect everything on your PC from prying eyes.
Occasionally I encounter naysayers who tell me I'm wrong. "The FBI, CIA, or NSA can unlock any type of encryption," they say. "Relying on encryption just raises your profile."
I'm not a computer expert, and I certainly don't know what capabilities the FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies have to decrypt encrypted information. But in at least one case, even the FBI couldn't decipher data on a PC protected by an encryption program called "TrueCrypt."
In July 2008, Brazilian federal police seized a computer owned by a banker named Daniel Dantas. The seizure occurred in connection with Dantas' arrest for money laundering, tax evasion and racketeering.
In the meantime, police were trying to decrypt Dantas hard disks, and getting nowhere. They turned to the FBI for assistance in late 2008. After trying to break the code for more than a year, the FBI returned the hard drives to Brazilian police earlier this year, with the encryption intact. The programs Dantas used to encrypt the hard drive were TrueCrypt and another, unspecified encryption program.
Apparently investigators were unable to get past the passphrase that appears when a PC's entire hard disk is encrypted. To break the password, both Brazilian authorities and the FBI used a "dictionary" attack. This involves successively trying all the words in a list, often taken from a dictionary or simple variations of words in a dictionary. Dictionary attacks often succeed because many PC users employ short, easy-to-remember passphrases. Obviously, Dantas was more sophisticated than most computer users.
However, Dantas wasn't as successful staying out of jail. Although his data remains securely encrypted, in December 2008, he was convicted of attempted bribery of a police officer and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In this case, at least, Dantas would have done better to rely on technology than on human greed.
Copyright © 2010 by Mark Nestmann