1. R3d13's Avatar
    Hi all

    I have encryption enabled on both the device and SD card. When and how does the device encrypt and decrypt files?

    Does it decrypt files as they're being accessed, or how exactly?

    Basically what I'm trying to understand is, when is data exposed and up for grabs?

    Thanks
    08-03-15 06:54 AM
  2. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    Hi all

    I have encryption enabled on both the device and SD card. When and how does the device encrypt and decrypt files?

    Does it decrypt files as they're being accessed, or how exactly?

    Basically what I'm trying to understand is, when is data exposed and up for grabs?

    Thanks
    The OS decrypts files as it needs them...

    The protection is that no one in take your SD Card out or your device to a lab to access those files without the OS running or without a super computer.

    Data could be exposed by an APP that has been granted permission to access you Contact and Files... as the OS will see the APP has permission and will decrypt the data as it has been instructed too.
    R3d13 likes this.
    08-03-15 07:33 AM
  3. Richard Buckley's Avatar
    Once the initial encryption is complete data is encrypted as it is written, and decrypted as it is read. It is up for grabs to any app you istall and give permission to access. So you need to be careful with permission settings and Android applications. You also need to have a strong password, because if someone can determine your password the encryption doesn't matter.


    Z10STL100-3/10.3.2.2252 SR 10.3.2.2168
    R3d13 likes this.
    08-03-15 07:34 AM
  4. bobshine's Avatar
    Think of encrypting just as a different coding to save your files.

    Normally, when you save a file on memory, it translates your language into a code.

    But with encryption, what it does it that it adds a second layer to it and translates it into another set of code but that looks like random coding with no apparent pattern.

    So logically, it's when you access your files that you're most at risk. Someone can be "standing behind you" and reading your stuff

    Posted via CB10
    R3d13 likes this.
    08-03-15 07:47 AM
  5. Madhuchandran's Avatar
    The overall take is that encryption is not a matter of concern for the hackers, even in BlackBerry??

    Posted via CB10
    08-03-15 08:54 AM
  6. AnimalPak200's Avatar
    The overall take is that encryption is not a matter of concern for the hackers, even in BlackBerry??

    Posted via CB10
    It's the difference between needing to be a hacker (with time and computing power) and just being able to plug your phone/SD card to a USB port.

    Of course, everything hinges on the user, so if you (willingly or unknowingly) show the same clear text data you interact with to someone else, then no amount of data security will matter.

    Posted via CB10
    08-03-15 09:15 AM
  7. bobshine's Avatar
    Also remember that encryption has to be balanced with your security needs.

    If you're president of the United States, you'll obviously need the most secured possible encryption

    If you're John Smith that no one really cares about, then no hacker will spend tons of resources and time to hack your phone for fun.


    Posted via CB10
    08-03-15 09:22 AM
  8. Fastmarc's Avatar
    Posted via CB10
    08-03-15 09:54 AM
  9. R3d13's Avatar
    You also need to have a strong password, because if someone can determine your password the encryption doesn't matter.
    Do you mean the device password? I like how we can set a password up to 32 characters in BB 10.

    I'm now curious as to how that compares to iOS and Android's 4-character device passwords. Can those platforms set more complex passwords? Is a 4-char password all they use to lock and encrypt the device or do they have another way of handling that? It would be such a joke otherwise!

    Thanks for the replies
    08-04-15 03:52 AM
  10. danp2000's Avatar
    My big problem with encryption of my SD card is the possibility of loss due to a device failure so I keep my critical stuff in the cloud.

    Since I'm not the President or the head of a big corporation I don't think it's a big issue. My cloud access has a secure password and my phone is passworded.

    I'd hate to lose the important things like family photos.

    T-Mobile  вιaсĸвεггч� Passport � Autoloaded 10.3.1.2582 Sachesi to 10.3.1.2744 to 2.680 to 2.798 to 2.2204 to 2339
    08-04-15 06:34 AM
  11. Fastmarc's Avatar
    My big problem with encryption of my SD card is the possibility of loss due to a device failure so I keep my critical stuff in the cloud.

    Since I'm not the President or the head of a big corporation I don't think it's a big issue. My cloud access has a secure password and my phone is passworded.

    I'd hate to lose the important things like family photos.

    T-Mobile  вιaсĸвεггч� Passport � Autoloaded 10.3.1.2582 Sachesi to 10.3.1.2744 to 2.680 to 2.798 to 2.2204 to 2339
    My solution to that is to have critical data backed up in the event something weird happens. For instance Box automatically backup photos and videos. This way I can still have documents available locally, but encrypted.

    Posted via CB10
    08-04-15 06:42 AM
  12. Richard Buckley's Avatar
    Do you mean the device password? I like how we can set a password up to 32 characters in BB 10.

    I'm now curious as to how that compares to iOS and Android's 4-character device passwords. Can those platforms set more complex passwords? Is a 4-char password all they use to lock and encrypt the device or do they have another way of handling that? It would be such a joke otherwise!

    Thanks for the replies
    Yes, in this case I mean device password. And yes, other devices can set complex passwords, but BlackBerrys can also be set to use a simple four digit password as well.
    08-04-15 07:03 AM
  13. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    I agree that everyone's needs are different and that Encryption isn't to be used lightly. First time I used an autoloader I had forgotten that my SD Card was Encrypted..... lost everything on it.

    Seen a few post from people where there device died or the OS needed to be reloaded and they wanted to recover their files on an encrypted SD Card.... and couldn't.

    I too use the Cloud (OneDrive)... is it completely safe and secure, no. But if I drop my phone in the pool or lose it, I'll still have most of my data.
    08-04-15 09:28 AM
  14. Lucas D's Avatar
    So example if the police was to seize my phone for whatever reason and I had encryption on they couldn't get files off my phone without the encryption password? Hypothetical situation

    Posted via CB10
    08-04-15 12:43 PM
  15. Fastmarc's Avatar
    Heard it put best this way, once you enable encryption on the SD card, just start thinking of it as an extension of the internal memory and not a removable memory. Phone dies, so does the data. Do backup your important data.

    Posted via CB10
    08-04-15 12:46 PM
  16. Fastmarc's Avatar
    So example if the police was to seize my phone for whatever reason and I had encryption on they couldn't get files off my phone without the encryption password? Hypothetical situation

    Posted via CB10
    Correct.

    Posted via CB10
    08-04-15 12:47 PM
  17. bobshine's Avatar
    So example if the police was to seize my phone for whatever reason and I had encryption on they couldn't get files off my phone without the encryption password? Hypothetical situation

    Posted via CB10
    Yup but they can force you to unlock your phone with a court order.

    Again, encryption has to be adapted to your situation. If that's a risk, then your data should be stored in a way that it cannot be found.

    Posted via CB10
    08-04-15 03:33 PM
  18. Raestloz's Avatar
    Personally, I don't use encryption. Encrypting and decrypting takes processing power, it leads to more battery drain and more heat, even if it's tiny it'll build up the more you use your phone.

    I keep important stuff in phone memory and just hope my password will hold out in case it's stolen.

    I don't use my phone for business related stuff, I do agree that you need encryption on if you're in corporate environment

    Z10 STL100-1/10.3.1.2576
    08-04-15 10:19 PM
  19. R3d13's Avatar
    Yup but they can force you to unlock your phone with a court order.
    Depends on where you live, but in the U.S., you can't be forced to potentially incriminate yourself (Fifth Ammendment). They can only seize your phone with the court order.
    08-05-15 01:13 AM
  20. bobshine's Avatar
    Depends on where you live, but in the U.S., you can't be forced to potentially incriminate yourself (Fifth Ammendment). They can only seize your phone with the court order.
    Hmmm not sure about that. They can force you with a court order to give them access to your home, why can't they force you to give them access to search your phone?

    I think the interpretation of the fifth amendment is more about forcing someone to say they are guilty

    Posted via CB10
    08-05-15 08:02 AM
  21. Richard Buckley's Avatar
    Hmmm not sure about that. They can force you with a court order to give them access to your home, why can't they force you to give them access to search your phone?

    I think the interpretation of the fifth amendment is more about forcing someone to say they are guilty

    Posted via CB10
    From wikipeadia:

    Courts have given conflicting decisions on whether forced disclosure of computer passwords is a violation of the Fifth Amendment.

    In In re Boucher (2009), the US District Court of Vermont ruled that the Fifth Amendment might protect a defendant from having to reveal an encryption password, or even the existence of one, if the production of that password could be deemed a self-incriminating "act" under the Fifth Amendment. In Boucher, production of the unencrypted drive was deemed not to be a self-incriminating act, as the government already had sufficient evidence to tie the encrypted data to the defendant.[68]

    In January 2012 a federal judge in Denver ruled that a bank-fraud suspect was required to give an unencrypted copy of a laptop hard drive to prosecutors.[69][70] However, in February 2012 the Eleventh Circuit ruled otherwise - finding that requiring a defendant to produce an encrypted drive's password would violate the Constitution, becoming the first federal circuit court to rule on the issue.[71][72] In April 2013, a District Court magistrate judge in Wisconsin refused to compel a suspect to provide the encryption password to his hard drive after FBI agents had unsuccessfully spent months trying to decrypt the data.[73][74]
    Thorsten Heinsight likes this.
    08-05-15 08:08 AM
  22. bobshine's Avatar
    From wikipeadia:
    In summary, don't count on the fifth amendment to protect you if you ever have something to hide!

    Posted via CB10
    08-06-15 08:10 AM
  23. Richard Buckley's Avatar
    In summary, don't count on the fifth amendment to protect you if you ever have something to hide!

    Posted via CB10
    Good advice, but the latest case law is that you can not be compelled to divulge a password from memory.
    08-06-15 01:01 PM
  24. bobshine's Avatar
    Good advice, but the latest case law is that you can not be compelled to divulge a password from memory.
    Hmmm yeah but still not good enough. Well... me personally I wouldn't take the risk... if I have something to hide of course.

    Posted via CB10
    08-06-15 03:39 PM
  25. wojt7's Avatar
    Personally, I don't use encryption. Encrypting and decrypting takes processing power, it leads to more battery drain and more heat, even if it's tiny it'll build up the more you use your phone.

    I keep important stuff in phone memory and just hope my password will hold out in case it's stolen.

    I don't use my phone for business related stuff, I do agree that you need encryption on if you're in corporate environment

    Z10 STL100-1/10.3.1.2576
    You're just wrong on this (heat, drain)...
    08-06-15 05:49 PM
27 12

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