NCIS calls for "adverse inference" on failure to decrypt

[Caspar Bowden]

"...Controversially, Abbott called for high penalties under the planned new
decryption law. If a suspect refused to hand over the codes to unlock files
that had been seized on a raid, the court "should be able to draw an adverse
inference", he said. "
Guardian, 24/6/99,
http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,60587,00.html

* * * * * *
Loathe to quote myself, but...

"The Home Office plans to introduce legislation to allow keys to be
subpoenaed under warrant, whether covertly from a service provider operating
key-recovery, or from the end-user, which will raise difficult questions.
What will constitute prima facie grounds for issue of a warrant, to recover
evidence that by definition is unknown? Suppose a suspect has genuinely lost
their key? Will a judge be able to draw adverse inference from a suspect's
refusal (or inability) to produce a key to unlock information which the
prosecution believes to be incriminating? In any event, given the likely
proliferation of "camouflage" techniques (known as steganography), the
prosecution may be unable to demonstrate the existence of any encrypted data
at all."

The Parliamentary Monitor (Vol.6, No.7, May 98), My Armadillo has
Tonsillitis, Caspar Bowden.
--
Caspar Bowden                    http://www.fipr.org
Director, Foundation for Information Policy Research
Tel: +44(0)171 354 2333      Fax: +44(0)171 827 6534