Man jailed over computer password refusal
Encryption and password privacy is an entirely unsettled area of US law. The courts can probably compel you to <i>enter</i> your password (to decrypt a drive, or what have you), while you can maintain that the <i>content</i> of your password can be protected under the 5th. So, for instance, say you had encrypted files of plans to build a bomb and detailed schematics of the White House. The judge can order you to decrypt the files without forcing you to reveal that the password was "K1llt3hPr3zn0w!"<p>As a practical matter, I've wondered what would happen if someone simply claimed they couldn't remember the password. Especially if one could make it look like the encrypted files hadn't been accessed in over a year.<p>TrueCrypt's Plausible Deniability (<a href="http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=plausible-deniability" rel="nofollow">http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=plausible-deniability</a>) makes these issues even more complicated.<p>But yeah: by simply refusing, you'd be thrown in jail for contempt and your only way out would be appellate review of the order. You'd have to challenge the contempt citation on the basis that the original order was unlawful.