TechCrunch, Forbes - In response to a search warrant, Microsoft gave Bitlocker recovery keys to FBI, for three laptops FBI seized while investigating fraud in Guam.
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TechCrunch, Forbes - In response to a search warrant, Microsoft gave Bitlocker recovery keys to FBI, for three laptops FBI seized while investigating fraud in Guam.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/23/microsoft-gave-fbi-a-set-of-bitlocker-encryption-keys-to-unlock-suspects-laptops-reports/ and https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2026/01/22/microsoft-gave-fbi-keys-to-unlock-bitlocker-encrypted-data/
FBI was investigating covid unemployment insurance fraud in Guam. I don't use Bitlocker, so I can't speak from experience; the articles say the default is keys backed up to MS servers in "the cloud", though users can choose to back up keys locally -- say, to a removable drive. As usual, most people stay with the default.
Camel's nose, thin end of the wedge, slippery slope, etc. As the Forbes article says, quoting Matt Green: “My experience is, once the U.S. government gets used to having a capability, it's very hard to get rid of it.”
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