Public Address | Cafe | OnPoint: Legal Context

Paul Campbell

Mon, 23 Sept 2013 12:48:36 +1200

Surely what we've found out in the past few weeks is that the NSA is running the infrastructure, even in places here in NZ, the GCSB has already lost control.

Frankly I don't think we can trust any of them, their interests are not aligned with ours – we have…

tussock

Sat, 21 Sept 2013 20:30:48 +1200

It seems kinda silly to have a law that only protects sources and journalists who don't own cellphones or computers, eh. Almost like someone should be thinking of some amendments there, sometime.

Not that it'll matter once the GCSB's running the infrastructure. It's not like they bothered about warrants before…

nzlemming

Sat, 21 Sept 2013 01:09:23 +1200

Does this mean that this could be the reason Kim Dotcom has't been served with one of these to find those "culprits" who might have used Mega to "hide" their music???

It's more likely because he hasn't had access to the servers since the raid.

Ross Mason

Fri, 20 Sept 2013 16:34:49 +1200

From the wiki link:

In the same year the High Court also clarified that Norwich Pharmacal orders should not be granted for "fishing expeditions". In Arab Satellite Communications Organisation v Saad Fagih & Anr [2008] Middle Eastern inter-governmental organisations applied for an order against a Saudi dissident for the identification of…

Ross Mason

Fri, 20 Sept 2013 16:31:29 +1200

Norwich Pharmacal order

Ouch!

Ross Mason

Fri, 20 Sept 2013 10:21:32 +1200

I’ve occasionally forgotten the passphrase to a key that’s merely days old. I guess it’s less plausible in that case, though still (obviously) it has happened to me.

Oh you mean like writing the password down on a piece of paper and swallowing it.

I presume that means you are…

Stephen R

Fri, 20 Sept 2013 09:48:58 +1200

I have some pgp keys and files encrypted with them on one or other of my hard-disks, which time and the fallibility of memory have erased the passphrases from my memory.

If my hard disks were searched and a theoretical investigator asked for the passwords, I'm assuming that since none…

Moz

Fri, 20 Sept 2013 04:54:14 +1200

So does a search warrant require you to obtain stuff for the police? In other words, if your data is in the cloud are you required to download it for them? Or do they have to run off to the cloud and get it from the cloud provider? I'm specifically…

Ian Dalziel

Thu, 19 Sept 2013 23:32:17 +1200

restive missive or Shrodinger's catalogue entry?
Does a letter sitting in a letter box constitute it being “at rest”? In the postie’s bike bag? Sitting on my table unopened? Opened, read and put on the table?
Neither particle, nor wave, the letter exists at all points in the journey (alpha…

Ross Mason

Thu, 19 Sept 2013 22:19:56 +1200

“At rest” huh? So, traveling through space at a gizillion miles per hour counts as not at rest? I’ll give Einstein a call on that one.

So if I had 2, 3 or many more “clouds” that constantly shuffled my data around so it was never “at rest”, would that…

Thomas Goodfellow

Thu, 19 Sept 2013 19:30:48 +1200

Ignoramus response: actively using a duress password seems like contempt at best or plausibly destruction of evidence (since that surely includes materials due for searching, not merely materials already known to contain relevant evidence). But of course the penalty may still be less than that which may be due for…

Nick Russell

Thu, 19 Sept 2013 19:25:24 +1200

Yes. You might also be liable for damages for despoiling evidence. If a Court orders you to deliver up evidence the only valid defence is privilege. If the evidence isn't privileged, you cannot avoid the order by uttering magic words or destroying the evidence.

Rich of Observationz

Thu, 19 Sept 2013 16:54:45 +1200

Would the use of some sort of duress alarm to destroy data (or encryption keys) be contempt?

Matthew Poole

Thu, 19 Sept 2013 16:20:09 +1200

Normal encryption doesn’t help, as you can be legally compelled to give up the password.
However, if the penalty for conviction on whatever charges the encryption is delaying is higher than the two-year maximum for failing to release a password, you're better to stay mum and face the music (which…

Public Address

Thu, 19 Sept 2013 16:20:09 +1200

Discussion from blog post.