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Uber Tries to Remotely Encrypt Corporate Data During Government Raid

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Re: Uber Tries to Remotely Encrypt Corporate Data During Government Raid

#2
Background: Uber's offices in Montreal were raided a few days ago by Revenue Quebec: http://globalnews.ca/news/1998322/montreal-uber-offices-raid... . What is new news is that the URL above (a major Montreal newspaper) says that the local CEO called Uber HQ in San Francisco, who then tried to remotely encrypt data on Uber corporate servers, laptops, phones, and so on, during the raid. Revenue Quebec investigators noticed and are now expanding their seizure order.

Re: Uber Tries to Remotely Encrypt Corporate Data During Government Raid

#3
Oh, man.

An attempted coverup is often punished harshly. Richard Nixon and Martha Stewart should have taught everyone that. How is this not obstruction of justice[1], or whatever Canada calls it?

   Obstruction charges can also be laid
   if a person alters, destroys, or conceals
   physical evidence
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obstruction_of_justice

Re: Uber Tries to Remotely Encrypt Corporate Data During Government Raid

#5

Oh, man. An attempted coverup is often punished harshly. Richard Nixon and Martha Stewart should have taught everyone that. How is this not obstruction of justice[1], or whatever Canada calls it? Obstruction charges can also be laid if a person alters, destroys, or conceals physical evidence [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obstruction_of_justice

Canada calls it the same thing. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Canadian_Criminal_Law/Offences/...

Re: Uber Tries to Remotely Encrypt Corporate Data During Government Raid

#6
What strikes me as odd about this is that the laptops weren't encrypted to begin with.

Relying on remote encryption to protect the data could have been defeated by simply taking the network offline at the beginning of the raid.

Potentially a remote lock prevents employees of Uber Canada being ordered to decrypt the data as they lack the means, but presumably such a court order would lead to head office having to decrypt the data anyway.

Re: Uber Tries to Remotely Encrypt Corporate Data During Government Raid

#9

I dont understand why they were trying to do this remotely? Wouldnt it have made more sense to have all the devices already encrypted? Then if someone does a raid - simply turn off all the devices - and your protected?

Well then you do understand why they tried to do it remotely - because the devices weren't encrypted in the first place.

Re: Uber Tries to Remotely Encrypt Corporate Data During Government Raid

#10

I dont understand why they were trying to do this remotely? Wouldnt it have made more sense to have all the devices already encrypted? Then if someone does a raid - simply turn off all the devices - and your protected?

Law enforcement agents raiding your facility don't tend to permit you to run around shutting down all the computers.
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