- cross-posted to:
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- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
The recent federal raid on the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson isn’t merely an attack by the Trump administration on the free press. It’s also a warning to anyone with a smartphone.
Included in the search and seizure warrant for the raid on Natanson’s home is a section titled “Biometric Unlock,” which explicitly authorized law enforcement personnel to obtain Natanson’s phone and both hold the device in front of her face and to forcibly use her fingers to unlock it. In other words, a judge gave the FBI permission to attempt to bypass biometrics: the convenient shortcuts that let you unlock your phone by scanning your fingerprint or face.



Wouldn’t it be better to just turn the phone off? Seems like it’s about the same amount of effort, and it won’t have anything unencrypted in RAM any more.
It’s already in the same screen, both on Android and iOS, so of course it is much better, and not less convenient, to shutdown instead.
I can’t think of any reason not to, besides “I might want to unlock it real quick”, which is exactly what you’re preventing on this scenario.