bitlocker backdoor response

[Troy McClure]

Two weeks ago BBC News published an article speculating about a possible "back door" in BitLocker (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4713018.stm). The suggestion is that we are working with governments to create a back door so that they can always access BitLocker-encrypted data.



Over my dead body.



Well, maybe not literally---I'm not ready to be a martyr quite yet---but certainly not in any product I work on. And I'm not alone in that sentiment. The official line from high up is that we do not create back doors. And in the unlikely situation that we are forced to by law we'll either announce it publicly or withdraw the entire feature. Back doors are simply not acceptable. Besides, they wouldn't find anybody on this team willing to implement and test the back door.



We are of course talking to various governments; we want them to buy Vista and use BitLocker for their own security. We get the typical questions you always get: ease of use, performance, security, etc. We also get questions from law enforcement organizations. They foresee that they will want to read BitLocker-encrypted data, and they want to be prepared. Like any security technology BitLocker has its avenues of attack and law enforcement should know about them. For example, if they search a house and find a computer, they should also take all USB thumb drives, as these might contain a BitLocker key. This information is not secret; our users need to have the same information when they make the security vs. convenience tradeoff of choosing a key-protection option (TPM only, USB key, TPM + USB key, etc.) We plan on having a KB article with the details when Vista ships.



- Niels Ferguson (developer & cryptographer)

 

[Max]

You certainly are good for amusement.
If you had read both the post AND the URL you posted, you would have noticed
that they entire post was a copy/paste FROM that URL--which really should
have been quoted as such.
But no, you are too busy looking for opportunities to do your own
copy/pasting of the same stuff over and over to pay any attention to
anything else.

--
Maxwell Vista Ready FireWall2 Bluemeanie

Hello Troy,

Have you read the below URL? Near certain the "back door" situation is
fully
discussed.

Follow the below URL Link for the most incredible learning experience that
ever did you experience for learning why Vista and BitLocker provides
Ultimate Security !

http://blogs.msdn.com/si_team/default.aspx

<snip>

 

[Max]

Rude?
Me!!!???
Nah, just pointing out the obvious..that you don't even read the contents of
the links that you post.
Perhaps there is a reason for this?
Perhaps you have 'comprehension issues'?

Well duh, talk about pointing out the obvious.
Shame on me.

 

[Max]

Why don't you read it, and then tell me what it all means.
That should be good for a laugh.

 

[Guest]

Max

Don't fall for it.

He speaks like 'Yoda' but is in fact 'Vada'.

Like in his 'dreams', he to wants to be a
'StarFleet Captain'.
If you read his posts very carefully you will find
a very clever 'nearer to microsoft' supplier of
"bullets".
Who else but a 'plant', posts a question he
already knows the answer to.

 

[Max]

Blind not I am.