Crime

Colorado Woman Denied Appeal, Still Must Provide Authorities Unencrypted Hard Drive

Ramnoa Fricosus Appeal Wont Be Heard | Has Until Monday to Unlock Laptop for AuthoritiesDENVER (The Blaze/AP) — The saga continues of a Colorado woman who was arrested for real estate fraud and ordered by the court to decrypt her laptop, which is believed to have incriminating evidence. After this order, Ramona Fricosu’s lawyer said she may have forgotten the password. Fricosu was given a deadline — Feb. 21 — to unlock the device, which she was appealing under her Fifth Amendment right as protection against self-incrimination.

The U.S. Circuit Court decided she could not appeal the case until it was resolved in District Court. She now has less than a week to provide the court with an unencrypted hard drive.

The case has raised questions about whether requiring someone to unlock a computer‘s protected files amounts to a violation of the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination.

The judge’s order establishes a “very dangerous precedent that a person may be forced to assist in her prosecution in a way the law has not seen ever before,” said Phillip DuBois, who represents a woman charged in a mortgage and real estate fraud case.

On Tuesday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to get involved, saying Ramona Fricosu’s criminal case must first be resolved in District Court before her attorney can appeal.

Fricosu, of Colorado Springs, now has until Monday to turn over an unencrypted version of the hard drive of a laptop.

Federal prosecutors argue that not allowing the government access to encrypted computers would make it impossible to prosecute crimes such as terrorism, child exploitation and drug trafficking. The U.S. attorney‘s office declined to comment on Tuesday’s appeals court decision.

The San Francisco-based Electronic Freedom Foundation has opposed the government’s actions in the case because it believes easy-to-use encryption software should be used by everybody to prevent computer crimes and fraud, said Hanni Meena Fakhoury, an attorney for the foundation. The case could render those privacy protections useless, he said.

“The government is flipping that on its head and saying encryption is only good for criminals to hide what they’re doing,” Fakhoury said. “It’s very decoder-ring-ish. But this is not some sleuth criminal tool.”

A judge last month sidestepped the issue of ordering Fricosu to turn over her password, and instead ordered her to turn over an unencrypted version of the hard drive. Prosecutors had argued the password was like gaining a key to a lock box and other instances where a defendant signs documents to allow investigators to access overseas accounts.

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Blackburn noted that the contents of one’s mind is off limits, but he ordered Fricosu to turn over the data, citing a Vermont case that stemmed from a 2006 border crossing search in which a man was later ordered to do the same.

The courts in that case noted that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent had found child pornography on the computer but couldn’t access it later because of encryption, and turning over the unencrypted hard drive added nothing to the evidence the government already had.

Blackburn also noted there were only a few cases on which to base his ruling.

In Fricosu’s case, “the government has no idea what’s on that computer,” DuBois said. That element makes it different from other cases, he said.

In a procedure agreed upon by DuBois and federal prosecutors, federal agents would meet Fricosu at a designated place with the laptop, which was seized during a search warrant. Then, the government will either look away or go to another room while Fricosu enters a password on her laptop and hands it back to agents so the hard drive can be copied.

But there’s a twist.

“It is possible that Ms. Fricosu has no ability to decrypt the computer, because she probably did not set up the encryption on that computer and may not know or remember the password or passphrase,” DuBois said in a statement Tuesday.

Fricosu and her husband, Scott Whatcott, are accused of targeting distressed homeowners in the Colorado Springs area. Prosecutors allege the two promised to pay off homeowners’ mortgages but then filed fraudulent documents in court to obtain title and sell the homes without paying the outstanding mortgage.

DuBois described Fricosu as an immigrant from Romania who has two sons, no technical expertise in computers and whose computer was encrypted with what he believed was software available on the Internet or at stores.

Encrypted computers are no longer for the technological savvy. With a few clicks of the mouse, readily available 256-bit and 512-bit encryption software makes computer hard drives almost impossible to break into, even for hackers.

“Conceptually, it is possible to break encryption,” but it could take years, said Jay Bavisi of the Albuquerque-based EC-Council, a so-called “white hat” and ethical hacker group that tests network and computer security. “It can be a time consuming and resource draining exercise in an already stressed environment.”

In one of the few examples of a similar case, a sheriff’s detective under suspicion for improper use of a law enforcement database told investigators in King County, Wash., in 2004 that he simply forgot the password to the encrypted portion of his computer hard drive. The detective retired and the computer’s hard drive was placed into storage.

“We apparently did not ever crack the code to get in,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindi West said.

Comments (28)

  • Rodney777
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 10:15pm

    Tell the judge to piss off!

    Report Post » Rodney777  
    • ghostsouls
      Posted on February 24, 2012 at 5:44pm

      I wouldn’t decrypt a thing. Without any evidence they can’t convit on anything, except failure to abide by the court order. Cya!

      Report Post » ghostsouls  
  • Ramv36
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 10:10pm

    Storing your data in an encrypted form is a very sound IT practice, especially for things like personal information and financial data, and encryption practices are ESPECIALLY critical for industries that collect and store the financial information of their clients, which is the case here seeing as Fricosu was selling financial services.
    Without condoning criminality, as an IT professional I would advise those storing incriminating data to not only encrypt it, but to use an encryption suite that supports self-destruction of that data in the event of unauthorized attempts to access it, such as a computer forensics team attempting to guess your password. Just a suggestion.

    Report Post »  
    • Ramv36
      Posted on February 23, 2012 at 10:20pm

      Also, the Feds said they would meet her with the laptop, then leave her alone to enter the password to decrypt the data. Were I in this situation, I would simply wait until they left, pull the hard drive, and physically destroy it. Even the newest traditional hard disks (but not Solid State Drives) are actually quite fragile, and it wouldn’t take more than a few seconds to damage it to a point that nearly all the data would be completely irrecoverable.
      Some might say this would warrant a charge of destroying evidence, but that would be impossible to prove, seeing as they don’t even know if the drive contains evidence. No court will convict on that charge if you are unable to even prove if the evidence existed at all. Obstruction of Justice would be the probable outcome, but that may be much less of a threat than whatever charges she could face if that data was revealed. Quite a quandary, and I really hope it doesn’t set a precedent for future assaults on 5th Amendment/4th Amendment protections.

      Report Post »  
  • Seth Patriot
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 4:37pm

    If “the contents of one’s mind is off limits” then she can’t be expected to remember her password.

    Report Post » Seth Patriot  
  • Arshloch
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 2:14pm

    While it most likely result in some jail time, the answer to this obamite ‘judge’ should be kiss my a..

    Report Post » Arshloch  
    • JMorcan
      Posted on February 23, 2012 at 4:15pm

      How is this any different than forcing someone to give blood for DUI testing? Both are clearly unconstitutional self-incrimination, but the Supreme Court no longer cares about that. Law and order must be served, even if it means stripping us of rights.

      Report Post » JMorcan  
  • Spyder
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 12:16pm

    Unless the prosecution can PROVE that there is evidence on the computer, there is nothing more to say. The BELIEF that there may be evidence on that computer does not grant the courts a right to order a citizen to potentially incriminate themselves against the 5th amendment of the US Constitution.

    Report Post » Spyder  
    • smithclar3nc3
      Posted on February 23, 2012 at 2:14pm

      If there was imformation in there she should have opened it. Not only would the evidence get thrown out on 5th amendment violations she could also sue the state violation of constitutional rights. One two knock out

      Report Post »  
  • 2GodBeTheGlory
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 10:47am

    Was is the judge not being charged with the ILLEGAL attempt to go against the supreme law of the land (i.e. the Constitution – 5th Amendment)? He, as well as the prosecutors asking for this, should be thrown in jail and every case of both parties should be thrown out – that is LAW. Why is there not a call from congress nor the U.S. Circuit court? The U.S. Circuit court should not use legal maneuvering for an obvious illegal use of the bench. The law that she MAY have broken is no where near as bad is the one that this judge HAS broken. By his own words “contents of one’s mind is off limits”, however, the constitution clearly states that you as a judge cannot compel any person to self incrimination (or even potential), but no, he comes along and says no, we can use drugs to get the information from you (expounding to the next level from where he’s at), we just can’t read your mind? I do believe even the Geneva Convention had something to say about that.

    Report Post » 2GodBeTheGlory  
  • Zipit
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 10:05am

    I’m sure the left in this case would “wholeheartedly” support water boarding her to get the password!

    Report Post »  
  • neocon1
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 8:38am

    serve your search warrant, then break the door down like at someones home….WHAT? you CANT??
    Ooh well SUCKS to be you jack booted thugs, Maybe if you KILL her…No that wont work.
    All right we will imprison her for 25 years for contempt of court….WHAT constitution?
    Ochimpy wiped his azz with that Looong ago.

    I like the hillary angle….I forgot, not to the best of my recollection, I think it is IS.

    Report Post »  
  • japplebee
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 7:23am

    @LEGIONOFONE

    i use TruCrypt. they handed one of their encrypted hard drives over to the NSA, and asked them to crack it. Its been years and they still havent handed the hard drive back. If you put a long enough password in with whoe drive encryption it could in theory take several centuries to break into.

    Report Post »  
  • Meyvn
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 6:56am

    Wrong.

    Report Post » Meyvn  
  • ZeroOff4impact
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 5:53am

    Go get a retrieving magnet and bring it to them.

    Report Post » ZeroOff4impact  
  • tharpdevenport
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 5:23am

    I don‘t care if she’s guilty, this is a stand that needs to be made. I hope she forever forgets her password.

    Report Post » tharpdevenport  
    • DrFrost
      Posted on February 23, 2012 at 10:11am

      You’re absolutely correct. The prosecution cannot force anything from the womans mind either directly or indirectly. She needs to make this stand for the rest of us and make this a national issue.

      Report Post »  
  • Shiroi Raion
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 3:15am

    “There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”

    Ayn Rand

    Report Post » Shiroi Raion  
  • votingusmcvet
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 2:09am

    I totally encrypt all my hard drives before government convescation using a .45 cal erase all hardware program the software can only be used once but it only costs $1.45 per use…..I usually buy the development pack with 25 license incidicences so that I am prepared to help my friends if so needed.

    Report Post »  
    • SacredHonor1776
      Posted on February 23, 2012 at 4:54am

      You do realize they have the technology to reconstruct even shattered hardrives, and pull data from it, right? Expensive, but if the government wants it done, they can…

      Report Post »  
  • SOIssues
    Posted on February 23, 2012 at 1:01am

    They cannot force anybody to reveal the password, all she has to do is REMAIN SILENT, exorcise her 5th amendment right.

    Report Post » SOIssues  
  • kevinj319
    Posted on February 22, 2012 at 11:54pm

    Every one of our rights is under attack.

    Report Post »  
  • COFemale
    Posted on February 22, 2012 at 11:14pm

    With all the hackers out there, the government can’t decrypt a measly password on a hard drive. Hell, give the hard drive to Anonymous, they will break it for you, but they would probably erase anything incriminating for the lady.

    Report Post » COFemale  
    • Balthazor
      Posted on February 23, 2012 at 11:13am

      There’s a big, BIG difference between taking down a web server with a “denial of service” attack and cracking 256-bit encryption. Think of it like the difference between beating up a liberal ponytail-sporting college professor and beating up Godzilla.

      Report Post » Balthazor  
  • 13th Imam
    Posted on February 22, 2012 at 10:59pm

    Pull the Hillary Clinton defense. I don’t remember. I don’t remember how those FBI files got into my bedroom. I don’t remember.

    Report Post » 13th Imam  
    • AndiAndiAndi
      Posted on February 23, 2012 at 6:25am

      The Hillary! Now that’s funny. Good blast from the past. Thanks for the early morning laugh.

      Report Post »  

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