Overview
- Microsoft complied with a warrant to provide recovery keys for three seized laptops in a Guam COVID unemployment assistance investigation.
- BitLocker recovery keys are saved to a user's Microsoft account by default on many systems, enabling lawful access when ordered by a court.
- The request sought evidence from laptops linked to a suspected effort to steal pandemic jobless funds in Guam.
- Users can prevent vendor access by not uploading BitLocker recovery keys to the cloud and by managing them locally.
- Direct comparisons to Apple’s 2015 San Bernardino dispute are flawed because Apple’s design did not allow key retrieval, and Apple now offers optional end-to-end iCloud encryption through Advanced Data Protection.