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a question raised by the mitnick case

Kevin Mitnick's out, but the legal tangles linger. Two weeks ago, this god among hackers was let loose from the federal prison he had called home for nearly five years. Mitnicks trial, however, failed to resolve an important issue: in the words of the New York Times, "when federal agents seize encrypted files from a defendent, can they refuse to return them unless the defendent turns over the secret 'key' to decode the files?" Interesting query, no? The Times traces this conundrum in the context of Mitnick's case, pointing out how this could become a central concern in future encrytption-related litigation. Don't miss the links at the end of the article for more information on computer security and the law.

Thu, 03 Feb 2000 05:44:50 -0800