The article is interesting in that it will determine if you can be ordered to give up a password which would self incriminate yourself. The article is on the long side but worth a look:
The federal government is asking a U.S. District Court in Vermont to order a man to type a password that would unlock files on his computer, despite his claim that doing so would constitute self-incrimination.
'Nearly impossible' to access files
The agents seized the laptop, and a Vermont Department of Corrections investigator copied its contents. But the investigator could not get access to the drive Z content because it was protected by Pretty Good Privacy, a form of encryption software used by intelligence agencies in the United States and around the world that is widely available online. PGP, like all encryption algorithms, requires a password for decryption.
For more than a year, the government has been unable to view drive Z.
A government computer forensics expert testified that it is "nearly impossible" to access the files without the password, the judge wrote. "There are no 'back doors' or secret entrances to access the files," he wrote. "The only way to get access without the password is to use an automated system which repeatedly guesses passwords. According to the government, the process to unlock drive Z could take years . . . "
In his ruling, Niedermeier said forcing Boucher to enter his password would be like asking him to reveal the combination to a safe. The government can force a person to give up the key to a safe because a key is physical, not in a person's mind. But a person cannot be compelled to give up a safe combination because that would "convey the contents of one's mind,'' which is a "testimonial" act protected by the Fifth Amendment, Niedermeier said .
Full article:Orin S. Kerr, an expert in computer crime law at George Washington University, said that Boucher lost his Fifth Amendment privilege when he admitted that it was his computer and that he stored images in the encrypted part of the hard drive. "If you admit something to the government, you give up the right against self-incrimination later on," said Kerr, a former federal prosecutor.
Lee Tien, senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group, said encryption is one of the few ways people can protect what they write, read and watch online. "The last line of defense really is you holding your own password," he said. "That's what's at stake here."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22672241/
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On a side note, using the free app, "Eraser" to delete anything questionable off your hard drive is a good idea:
http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/download.php
Nice freebie app:
Eraser Features . . .
Works with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP (32/64),Vista (32/64), Windows Server 2003 and DOS.
It works with any drive including IDE, SCSI and RAID, and CD-RW's.
Uses the Guttmann (Default), Pseudorandom Data and US DoD 5220-22.M methods.
Erases Files and Folders.
Erases Files/Folders that were only previously 'deleted'.
Erases all hard drives using 'Darik's Boot and Nuke' method.
Erases Index.dat on Reboot
Erases Encrypted Files and Drives.
Erases FreeSpace on 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and DOS.
Erases contents of the Recycle Bin.
Erases Compressed Files and Drives.
Erases Network Files, Floppy Disks, CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW.
Erases Windows Temporary Files.
Erases Internet Cookies.
Erases Paging (swap) file.
Erases Internet Cache.
Appears as an 'Erase' option on the Context Menu of Windows Explorer and Recycle Bin.
Comes with an Eraser Scheduler that allows you to create user-defined tasks.
Defeats File Recovery software applications Hardware tools.
Supports FAT32 and NTFS Files Systems.
Eraser is easy to use and comes with a dedicated support network.
Works great and can be integrated into your right click menu. It has six settings...anywhere from writing random data, to making 35 passes over the file to ensure there's not "ghost" image left. I found anything over three passes takes forever and only use it on the rare occasion as even three passes takes awhile on a larger file.
If nothing else, it's good to use it on an old drive if you plan to sell it or throw away.