This news is a few days old but is critically important, none the less. A federal judge in Vermont has ruled that the right not to divulge his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) passphrase is protected by the 5th amendment. A pseudo-anonymous blogger points out the significance: If this becomes a precedent, it will be distinctly different from European countries such as the U.K, where a new law provides for up to two years of jail time simply for refusing to reveal a key. As people’s digital storage increasingly becomes an integrated part of their identity, the right to keep certain … Continue reading Court ruling protects encryption keys as a Fifth Amendment right