Microsoft gave FBI set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects' laptops

Post by duskwuff » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 7:07 PM UTC

dcrazy wrote: post #99

Melatonic wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or use a local account to login ?

I’m not sure if you misunderstand how macOS accounts work or how FileVault works. There are two ways to log into macOS: a local user account or an LDAP (e.g. OpenDirectory, Active Directory) account. Either of these types of accounts may be associated with an iCloud account. macOS doesn’t work like Windows where your Microsoft account is your login credential for the local machine. FileVault key escrow is something y…

Post by direwolf20 » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 7:07 PM UTC

Sayrus wrote: post #88

smegger001 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if cosmic ray bit flips were so rare then ecc ram wouldn't be a thing.

ECC protects against more events than cosmic rays. Those events are much more likely, for instance magnetic/electric interferences or chip issues.

Post by dcrazy » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 7:08 PM UTC

jcalvinowens wrote: post #78

ezfe wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's solution is iCloud Keychain which is E2E encrypted, so would not be revealed with a court order.

> Apple's solution is iCloud Keychain which is E2E encrypted, so would not be revealed with a court order. Nope. For this threat model, E2E is a complete joke when both E's are controlled by the third party. Apple could be compelled by the government to insert code in the client to upload your decrypted data to another endpoint they control, and you'd never know.

Post by eszed » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 7:09 PM UTC

d1sxeyes wrote: post #121

strbean wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> IBM estimated in 1996 that one error per month per 256 MiB of RAM was expected for a desktop computer. From the wikipedia article on "Soft error", if anyone wants to extrapolate.

That makes it vanishingly unlikely. On a 16GB RAM computer with that rate, you can expect 64 random bit flips per month. So roughly you could expect this happen roughly once every two hundred million years. Assuming there are about 2 billion Windows computers in use, that’s about 10 computers a year that experience this bit flip.

Post by redox99 » Fri, Jan 23, 2026, 7:09 PM UTC

gruez wrote: post #59

cesarb wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Any power users who prefer their own key management should follow the steps to enable Bitlocker without uploading keys to a connected Microsoft account. Once the feature exists, it's much easier to use it by accident. A finger slip, a bug in a Windows update, or even a cosmic ray flipping the "do not upload" bit in memory, could all lead to the key being accidentally uploaded. And it's a silent failure: the securit…

>A finger slip, a bug in a Windows update, or even a cosmic ray flipping the "do not upload" bit in memory, could all lead to the key being accidentally uploaded. This is absurd, because it's basically a generic argument about any sort of feature that vaguely reduces privacy. Sorry guys, we can't have automated backups in windows (even opt in!), because if the feature exists, a random bitflip can cause everything to…