Woman Ordered to Unlock iPhone with Fingerprint

FOX news

A woman associated with an Armenian gang member, Paytsar Bkhchadzhyan, was ordered by a Los Angeles judge to unlock her phone with her fingerprint.

This is the first time this has ever happened.

the law is murky here: Police can get a warrant to search a phone and can take fingerprints without court approval...An expert says Bkhchadzhyan's phone may have contained incriminating information, meaning the court order violated her Fifth Amendment right in essentially forcing her to testify.

In regard to phones with a password or passcode, that is still generally thought of as protected.

"This is why I tell my criminal procedure students that they have more protections if they use a pass code rather than fingerprint to guard entry to their phones," a law professor tells Ars Technica.

I have never been fond of the fingerprint protection available on my laptop. I tried the face recognition, but it was unreliable. I recommend people keep a good password/passcode on their devices.

In the newest Windows 10 upgrade, my desptop asks for my hotmail password- an account I have not used in a long time- and my laptop for my microsoft PIN code. There are options to change this to your own password....though you may lose cloud features across devices. I was surprised to see my wallpaper on both become the same. I actually wanted different wallpaper on each device. That is TMI for the cloud, I think.

Regardless, go for the passcode. A better choice, apparently.

I saw this earlier.

Your flaw...
"I have never been fond of the fingerprint protection available on my laptop. I tried the face recognition, but it was unreliable."
Giving into any recognition. Never leave even a smudge on your face for crooks or LEO alike.

As long as you do nothing criminal. If anyone can read the user agreements anymore. If it can be eploited.... it will be exploited.

I got more thoughts on this. But i'm so tired anymore to list them.

Good find OP😊

a reply to: reldra

All she had to do was refuse and get contempt of court. then get a lawyer to get her released.

Yeah I saw this story and thought of posting it, as it is quite interesting. Will people be forced, obliged to unlock their phones at certain times.

Also saw this story which is sort of similar about Apple examining a phone for relatives.

Apple Will Analyze iPhone of Teen Missing at Sea

abcnews.go.com...

Apple will analyze the recovered iPhone that may hold the key to what happened last summer when two Florida teens disappeared on a boating trip, according to an agreement reached by the teens' parents in court today. The recovered iPhone belonged to 14-year-old Austin Stephanos, who went missing while on a boat trip with Perry Cohen, also 14, in July. The Coast Guard led an eight-day search in the Atlantic, covering 50,000 nautical miles. The boys' bodies were never found.

I hope they find out something so the families can have some closure.

originally posted by: yuppa
a reply to: reldra

All she had to do was refuse and get contempt of court. then get a lawyer to get her released.

They can force you to comply.
A taser and you will not resist the court order!
You might die, horribly (after all, they are cops!) but they will get that fingerprint!

She shoulda joined the yakuza. Then this wouldnt be a problem for her.

originally posted by: namelesss

originally posted by: yuppa
a reply to: reldra

All she had to do was refuse and get contempt of court. then get a lawyer to get her released.

They can force you to comply.
A taser and you will not resist the court order!
You might die, horribly (after all, they are cops!) but they will get that fingerprint!

No they toss you in for contempt if you refuse the judge. ALso you can burn your fingerprints off as well. And IF you dont voluntarily open the phone it can be argued they broke the law and co ersed you.
Crap ive destroyed stuff handed to me before to open up. Just for spite.

originally posted by: yuppa

originally posted by: namelesss

originally posted by: yuppa
a reply to: reldra

All she had to do was refuse and get contempt of court. then get a lawyer to get her released.

They can force you to comply.
A taser and you will not resist the court order!
You might die, horribly (after all, they are cops!) but they will get that fingerprint!

No they toss you in for contempt if you refuse the judge.

Remember when the court ordered a DNA sample and the fellow refused to submit, they held him down and swabbed his mouth!
Personally, I just automatically assume that everything that I think, do or say is already Known!
That there are no 'secrets'.
And if I ever do get a mobile tracking device/cell phone, I shall assume that there is not anything that I could ever possibly punch into it, or say into it, that is not Universal Knowledge (it actually is!)!

Crap ive destroyed stuff handed to me before to open up. Just for spite.

Vive' la Resistance! *__-

originally posted by: reldra
Regardless, go for the passcode. A better choice, apparently.

Passphrases are best. Basically just longer and easier to remember passcodes. Without getting too specific on what it is, my PGP passphrase is over 150 characters long and includes capitals, lower case, several symbols, and is extremely easy for me to remember, I haven't used it in nearly 2 years and can still instantly recall it. Good luck ever guessing that.

It is because it is a biometric she can be forced to do it legally. See, your biometrics are considered public information, since it is no secret and you leave fingerprints everywhere you go. As such, it sets a precedent that you are not protecting that identifier, so you cannot claim self incrimination. However, a passphrase is something you and only you know. Revealing it would constitute self incrimination.

In addition, I always wondered if having a passphrase such as, "Yes. I did it. I am guilty." would protect you even more. If forced to provide it, would it not be the equivalent of a coerced confession? And, therefore, inadmissible in court, and all evidence found as a result of said confession thrown out and useless in the trial.

a reply to: Krakatoa

The handing over of passwords has been on shaky ground in the US, but what other countries have done is say that you can keep it secret, but that you still have to unlock the device for them.