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Is there a way to make it so that your devices (sd cards, USBs, phones, laptops) etc can't be copied without knowing the password ? (programming.dev)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by questionnaire@programming.dev to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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After the news about FBI accesing trump shooters phone some people are speculating that they copied the phone storage so that they could bruteforce it without getting locked out if that is true is there anyway to make it so that your digital device can't be copied without the passwd if someone has physical acess to it and all the bruteforcing etc have to be done on the original device itself so we have a better chance of privacy . I am a layman but i use a good enough password on my phone and encrypt some sd card storage (which i knoe can be copied bcause i do it myself) but if the phones whole storage can be copied it seems kinda pointless . so my questions are :

1 Does new smartphones do it by default ? if so how is wiping the phone when forgetting password possible ?

2 does full disk encryption do this ?

3 Does windows (8) have any thing that could do this for micro sd card and smartphone ? (some background is i only have a windows 8 craptop and it takes ages to load and Microsoft appstore nor sideloading works now encrypting the laptop is not needed as i barely do anything on it but was thinking if i could encrypt my phone or sd card using it (it is really really slow (think can't even load MS word in an hour slow) ) if not see question 4 ) also before you ask can't install linux tried and failed.

4 beside from encrypting certain files using file manager encryption can i encrypt my sd card on android itself by using any app ? (preferably from fdroid ) .

5 is all these even possible or is our only option hoping that our passwds are too complex to be bruteforced ?

6 also many people talk about updating your OS to increasing security but what about outdated hardware ? do they posses a risk or things like USB,sd cards etc which doesn't get any update ? Do they suffer security risk as time moves on ? is that even a thing ?

Try to answer questions in these format . pardon my ignorance and grammer even if i delete my acc feel free to still comment so it can be useful to others and i may still drop in to see the answers .

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[–] abrahambelch@programming.dev 22 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

First of all:

You can always copy storage if you're able to physically access it. The only way to prevent this is to secure the chip in a way it destroys itself if physically tampered with (like some TPM chips).

You should instead opt for a passphrase that is practically impossible to bruteforce on current hardware due to its complexity. Also, try not to disclose the encryption algorithm or software used as this information opens the possibility of exploiting known vulnerabilities.

VeraCrypt for example is able to completely hide its presence on a volume and the only way to know if a device is encrypted with it is trying to decrypt it using VeraCrypt with the correct passphrase.

Trying to answer your questions:

Most modern smartphones encrypt their data by default nowadays. The rest depends on the phone itself. Mostly they just delete the encryption keys from the TPM when formatted so this still enables an authority to copy your storage and bruteforce.
No. Encryption does never prevent you from copying the encrypted information. Those are two completely different things.
No. You cannot encrypt the SD card with say Bitlocker and use it on a phone afaik.
Yes, some Androids allow you to encrypt the SD card from within the storage settings.