Ask Slashdot: Encrypted Digital Camera/Recording Devices?

Ransak writes "As we hear more and more about dashboard cameras catching unplanned events, I've thought of equipping my vehicles with them just in case that 'one in a billion' moment happens. But given the level of overreach law enforcement has shown, I'd only consider one if I could be assured that the data was secure from prying eyes (e.g., a camera that writes to encrypted SD memory). Are there any solutions for the niche market of the paranoid photographer/videographer?"

Re:asymetric cryptography

[pixelpusher220]

Begs an interesting question based on 5th Amendment:

You can't be compelled to produce a 'password' or combination, but you can be compelled to produce a physical key to a safe, or for instance your fingerprint to unlock your fingerprint encrypted laptop.

Does this 'private key' count as a password or a key from a legal perspective?

Forensically secure?

[Omega Hacker]

The scenario I'm more interested in is having a camera running at all times that catch the various idiot drivers all over the place. Hit a button and the last 5 minutes and anything until the next press are permanently stored. Then send the file to the traffic cops.

The challenge is making the video admissible in court with sufficient weight to be enough to actually convict somebody of the traffic violation they're on tape performing. Currently "we" consider a cops' word as overwhelming evidence in such a case, with police dashboard cameras being a "bonus".

If there's some way to ensure that *I* don't tamper with the recording at a level that the courts would trust, I'd install one in a heartbeat.

Re:This solves what?

[jd659]

I have a dashboard camera and had similar thoughts about the encryption. I don’t care to stream the video somewhere else -- this is not my concern, I just don’t want the video to end up in the hands that I didn’t approve. Current cameras store several hours of most recent footage and even if I decide to share the last 5 minutes, who knows what could be there during previous hours if my card is copied in full.

Even if the camera manufacturers are not making the camera with built-in encryption, having a public-key encryption can be achieved on a separate tiny device. With current technology the device could have a form-factor of an SD-card. Imagine you have an SD card to which you record a public-key. Every following write to the card will be done through a built-in encryption using that key. All reads will return the encrypted content and it will appear as garbage. But for the purpose of most cameras (that only need to be able to read directories and file names) this will work. If the device is not as small as the SD card, I’d be ok to have wires sticking out of the SD slot that go to my “encryptor”. I can totally see such card to be useful for general photography too.

security through obscurity

[roc97007]

I have a camera built into the front license plate bracket rather than sitting on the dashboard. This particular one has the recording device elsewhere on the vehicle, but I suspect with today's technology the entire thing could fit in the license plate bracket. Just sayin'.

Google Glass?

[PopeRatzo]

The way I understand it, you could offload the data before the corrupt cop could seize the glasses. That is, if he even figures out what the glasses are for.

How long before Google Glass-type technology shows up in a pair of glasses that don't look any different from a regular pair of specs?

I know, I know, they're creepy. But they may also be something of an equalizer in the coming surveillance wars.

Re:This solves what?

[rtb61]

So what the query really is, "I want a camera that I can use when the accident is someone else's fault and I can pretend doesn't exist when the accident is my fault?". After all the cameras only record a certain amount of time and then overwrite previously recorded video, hence there isn't much worry for loss of privacy.