Computer encryption software is no longer for the
technologically advanced. This readily available software allows
average computer users to transform plain text into indecipherable
symbols, inaccessible to anyone without a password. With a few
clicks of a mouse, computer hard drives become impossible to break
into for advanced hackers and, even, FBI cyber squads. In response
to this technology, prosecutors in Colorado were recently
successful in obtaining a court order requiring a woman, charged
with a crime, to meet with FBI agents and unlock files found on her
laptop.
Ramona Fricosu was indicted in 2010 for bank fraud connected to
what authorities allege was a mortgage scam targeting people facing
foreclosure. Prosecutors claim the scheme defrauded banks of more
than $900,000. The FBI obtained a warrant and searched
Fricosu's home, recovering several computers, including a
laptop containing the encrypted information. The FBI asked Fricosu
to decode the laptop, but
