the return of key escrow?

[Dave Howe]

Chris Olesch wrote:
> Ok the lurker posts...
> 
> Can someone explain to me why security specialists think this:
> 
> "The system uses BitLocker Drive Encryption through a chip called TPM
> (Trusted Platform Module) in the computer's motherboard."
> 
> is going to stop authorities from retreiving data?
> 
> I ask this question on the basis of their encrypted hard drive on the
> old xbox. It supposedly used a secure key so the hard drive couldn't be
> upgraded, yet this fact didn't slow down the modd scene. Its not as if
> they are hardware encrypting tightly is it?
The old XBox didn't encrypt the data on the hard drive - instead, it used a
password on the drive firmware that almost all modern hard drives support (your
home pc's drive almost certainly supports the same thing, even if your bios doesn't)
Defeating the password requires one of:
a) obtaining the password
b) replacing the drive bios or controller
c) using an already unlocked drive
d) defeating the os on a running system to allow writes to the drive

all known xbox hacks used method c) or d) - using a game to bypass the write
protection, or disconnecting the ide cable after the drive was unlocked and
using a standard usb>>ide adaptor to write to the drive.

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