No warrant, No cryptographic hash

Nov.15, 2008 in Cryptography, Cyber-Crime, Digital Forensics, IT Law, Privacy

A US federal court judge has ruled that taking a cryptographic hash (fingerprinting) of a suspects hard drive constitutes a search and therefore a search warrant should be obtained first.

The judge ruled:

“To derive the hash values of Crist’s [suspect] computer, the government physically removed the hard drive from the computer, created a duplicate image of the hard drive without physically invading it, and applied the EnCase program to each compartment, disk, file, folder and bit,” … “By subjecting the entire computer to a hash value analysis - every file, internet history, picture, and ‘buddy list’ became available for government review. Such examination constitutes a search.”

In what may be a setback for prosecuters, the judge has asked for the evidence to be suppressed.

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