Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Tuesday, January 27th.

Today on Forbes, Microsoft gave FBI keys to unlock encrypted data, exposing major privacy flaw.

Early last year, the FBI served Microsoft with a search warrant, asking it to provide recovery keys to unlock

encrypted data stored on three laptops. Federal investigators in Guam believed the devices

held evidence that would help prove individuals handling the island's COVID-unemployment assistance

program were part of a plot to steal funds. The data was protected with Bitlocker, software that's automatically enabled on many modern

Windows PCs to safeguard all the data on the computer's hard drive.

Bitlocker scrambles the data so that only those with a key can decode it.

It's possible for users to store those keys on a device they own,

but Microsoft also recommends BitLocker users store their keys on its servers for convenience.

While that means someone can access their data if they forget their password, or if repeated

failed attempts to log in, lock the device, it also makes them vulnerable to law enforcement subpoenas

and warrants. In the Guam case, Microsoft handed over the encryption keys to investigators.

Microsoft confirmed to Forbes that it does provide BitLocker recovery keys if it receives a valid

legal order. Spokesperson Charles Chamberlain said,

quote,

while key recovery offers convenience,

it also carries a risk of unwanted access,

so Microsoft believes customers are in the best position to decide

how to manage their keys.

He said the company receives around 20 requests for bitlocker keys per year, and in many

cases the user has not stored their key in the cloud, making it impossible for Microsoft

...