One of the ways that tech companies like Apple and Google have changed the privacy game is by giving you, the end-user, the keys to your own encryption, much to the dismay of law enforcement officials who believe that they should be given a key as well in cases of emergency, like for stopping bad guys.
However it seems that if you have bought yourself a brand new PC with Windows 10 installed or upgraded your OS to Windows 10, your encryption key could actually be stored in the cloud and in the hands of Microsoft. This is according to a report from The Intercept who suggests that this method is more about you being able to recover your hard drive, as opposed to Microsoft flouting your need for privacy.
The idea is that in the event you need to recover your hard drive, the encryption key stored in the cloud will allow you to do so securely. However the concern here is that in the process of the key being uploaded to the cloud, it is possible that a hacker might have intercepted it. Or in the event your Microsoft account is hacked, they would have access to the key as well.
At the moment it does not appear to be a way for users to stop Windows 10 from automatically uploading your key, but the good news is that you can delete it from the cloud. If you’re not happy about having your keys stored in the cloud, you can pop on over to Microsoft’s website to delete it, with the full instructions provided by The Intercept.
Filed in . Read more about Microsoft, Privacy, Security and Windows 10.