Posted on 07/26/2026 6:22:53 PM PDT by aimhigh
A federal case in Atlanta is raising questions about a privacy-focused mobile operating system, with prosecutors arguing that its features were used to erase evidence. The US Department of Justice is attempting to prosecute Atlanta resident Sam Tunick under a federal statute that makes it a crime to destroy property in an effort to prevent it from being seized.
The case centers on Tunick's use of GrapheneOS, an open-source operating system that works on Google Pixel phones and lets users enter a passcode to wipe a device clean.
Experts said the legal approach is unusual and may be the first time the law has been aimed at an operating system. "It's concerning – and sends the message that [GrapheneOS] is criminal by default," said Christophe Boutry, a cybersecurity and surveillance expert. . . . . . . . .
During the questioning, agents repeatedly asked Tunick to unlock his phone and warned they would seize it if he refused. When he finally provided a passcode, the phone appeared to restart. The defense motion states that "the screen went blank, flashed several times, and the phone appeared to restart," resulting in the loss of data.
(Excerpt) Read more at techspot.com ...
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My grandmother would have handed my grandfather his rifle and told him to “go fix this shit” about 1000 times since I turned 18.
And when i turned 21 I worked for the government and really learned that it’s way, way more messed up than I ever thought possible.
Nothing short of a direct asteroid hit will make it better.
2 words getting erased from every day life and seemingly becoming more meaningless as time goes on. Would love to see some lawyers start defending our rights
Oh, you mean that Fourth Amendment thingy.
Would that make it a crime if I thought better of what I was going to post and deleted or edited it? We could call it, "Almost Thought Crime."
GrapheneOS is an open-source, privacy- and security-focused mobile operating system built on top of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). It is tailored specifically for Google Pixel devices because they feature dedicated hardware security chips (such as Google's Titan M series).
Key security features include:
Hardware-Backed Cryptography: Takes full advantage of hardware security chips for verified boot, key attestation, and key storage.
Duress Passcodes & Auto-Wipe: Allows users to set specific alternative PINs/passcodes that immediately trigger a secure factory reset, or set timers that auto-wipe the device after a period of inactivity or failed login attempts.
Sandboxed Google Play: Runs Google Play Services inside a restricted sandbox without granting them elevated system privileges, preventing background tracking while maintaining app compatibility.
Hardened App Memory & Permissions: Adds stricter memory allocation defenses, network toggles per app, and granular control over hardware sensors (like camera and microphone).
Whether data can be recovered after a phone wipe depends on where the investigator looks—on the physical hardware itself or off-device through third parties.
On modern smartphones (including stock Android, iOS, and GrapheneOS), local data recovery after a full wipe is virtually impossible.
Crypto-Shredding: Modern devices use File-Based Encryption (FBE). Data on the flash storage is encrypted using keys that are tied to your device's passcode and stored within a hardware security enclave.
Key Erasure: When a factory reset or duress wipe occurs, the system deletes the encryption keys from the secure hardware module. Even if forensic tools (such as Cellebrite or Magnet AXIOM) read every raw byte from the storage chips, the data remains mathematically unreadable ciphertext without the destroyed master keys.
While local hardware data cannot be recovered, an individual's digital activity can often still be reconstructed through external sources:
Cellular Carrier Records: Mobile providers maintain logs of SMS metadata, call history, data usage, and cell tower connections (Cell Site Location Information / CSLI).
Cloud Backups & App Servers: Backups stored in cloud services (Google Drive, iCloud) or messaging metadata stored on app servers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal) may be accessible via court orders or search warrants directed at those companies.
Recipient Devices: Any messages, emails, or files sent to another party remain stored on the recipient's device and on their service providers' servers.
Network & ISP Logs: Wi-Fi routers, VPN logs (if non-zero logging), or Internet Service Providers track connection metadata, domain requests, and IP addresses visited.
While a wiped GrapheneOS device destroys all local data permanently, network-level and counterparty digital footprints remain traceable through external legal process.
Search warrant
“You will own nothing. And you will be happy.”
“Property? Erased itself? I own no property. And I am happy.”
No search warrant needed. The excerpt left out the key sentence. Were you counting on no one clicking on the link?
"Tunick had just returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic"
If this went as described l think Tunick has a pretty strong case. I’m betting some important details have been left out.
Not needed when entering from a foreign country.
If there is no evidence left on your own device and the only traces of where you’ve visited and what you looked at are your VPN logs, cell tower info, ISP data, etc, is that sufficient to charge you and convict you? There’s no way to know that it was you operating the phone.
How do they know there was criminal evidence on there?
GrapheneOS bookmark.
Thanks for the info.
Hillary Diane Jezebel Rodham Clinton
has now entered the chat 🗨️🗨️🗨️🗨️
Real cybersecurity would be easy except that too many powerful entities, from government snoops to "legitimate" business wanting to offer you a product you have been searching for don't want cybersecurity because they want to exploit cyberspace for their ends. This of course opens the door for dasterdly deed doers, including gubmint.
“No search warrant needed. The excerpt left out the key sentence. Were you counting on no one clicking on the link?”
I was wondering when someone would mention that he was crossing an INTERNATIONAL BORDER, not flying in from Detroit. Everything is subject to search (including your digestive tract). I suspect they’re aiming for a Go-Fund-Me scam.
The destruction was done by the government.
The government had the phone in its agents’ hands under their complete control.
This is all charades for the government to pretend they don’t already have copies of everything on his phone. Snowden exposed it all more than a decade ago.
There have been, one way or another...
https://www.techbuzz.ai/articles/feds-charge-us-citizen-for-using-duress-password-at-border
Per the above this is related to the Stop Cop City activism, their word not mine, going on in Atlanta.
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