Solved Storing your BitLocker key in the cloud, Microsoft can give it to the FBI - what to do instead

Borg 386 · Feb 25, 2026

Microsoft has confirmed to Forbes that it will provide your BitLocker recovery key if it receives a valid legal order. For that to happen, though, that key must be backed up to the cloud and not just stored on one of your own local devices.

Microsoft may give your encryption key to law enforcement upon valid request - here's how to keep it safe

Concerned about encryption and privacy? Here's how to protect your data despite Microsoft's recent policy.

www.zdnet.com

garlin · Feb 25, 2026

You do realize MS, Google and Apple have to turn over whatever cloud data they store, when they receive a valid court order from countries they recognize as a legal authority. Your e-mail, your cloud drives, and backed up security keys... This has always been the case, for years.

If you're truly paranoid, then stop using any online services to sync or store data. Period.

hsehestedt · Feb 25, 2026

Once you understand the mathematical requirements for a BitLocker key you can simply create your own that you can calculate in your head. That's what I do. I don't write or save my BitLocker keys anywhere - just memorize them.

I know that may be a bit extreme, just pointing out that there are all sorts of options. Before I started memorizing a base from which I can calculate the key, I wrote a program that would gather the key from all machines on my network and save them to a locally protected file.

glasskuter · Feb 25, 2026

Seems to me that would only bother someone who has something to hide.

idgat · Feb 25, 2026

You do realise that the fact that it's OS created and computer-based, MS have access to it anyway (amongst a multitude of other things) - whether cloud, local, USB storage, or anywhere else

Pure naivety to think anything otherwise

But why would you think the FBI is interested in your key, anyway?

BruceR · Feb 25, 2026

hsehestedt said:
Once you understand the mathematical requirements for a BitLocker key you can simply create your own that you can calculate in your head. That's what I do. I don't write or save my BitLocker keys anywhere - just memorize them.

How do you add a new 48-digit recovery key which is not randomly generated?

zbook · Feb 25, 2026

hsehestedt said:
Once you understand the mathematical requirements for a BitLocker key you can simply create your own that you can calculate in your head. That's what I do. I don't write or save my BitLocker keys anywhere - just memorize them.

That likely is useful until quantum computers are prevalent.

Quantum Computing (60 Minutes)

www.elevenforum.com

Many have 3 digit combination locks in which the combo was forgotten.

What will you do if you forget it?

idgat · Feb 25, 2026

zbook said:
Many have 3 digit combination locks in which the combo was forgotten.

Leave me out of this ....

garlin · Feb 25, 2026

BruceR said:
How do you add a new 48-digit recovery key which is not randomly generated?

You use "manage-bde" from the command line to disable BitLocker on a drive, then re-enable it with a specific password recovery key.

If you can remember all 48 digits in your head, or have some silly trick like "123456781234567812345678123456781234567812345678"...

glasskuter · Feb 25, 2026

My mind is :boom:

hsehestedt · Feb 25, 2026

BruceR said:
How do you add a new 48-digit recovery key which is not randomly generated?

You use the command line manage-bde tool to create the key that you specify.

hsehestedt · Feb 25, 2026

garlin said:
or have some silly trick

Precisely - you just have to find a "trick" that works for you and that is not at all discernable by anyone else

Buddywh · Mar 1, 2026

I just don't put anything of interest to the FBI on the computer. I'm only worried about thieves selling it for drugs to someone who'd try to harvest banking, credit card, SS or other PPI details. The FBI has access to those records with minimum flex and don't need my computer... current history suggests they don't even need a court order or warrant to do it.

I'm not worried about them seeing my browsing history... don't even use a proxy or VPN or anything else to try and hide it. Heck, I'd give the FBI access whenever they asked. This just is not the hill I want to die on.

DJNelson · Mar 1, 2026

glasskuter said:
Seems to me that would only bother someone who has something to hide.

Seems to me the only people who say things like that are people who don't understand constitutional rights. It doesn't MATTER if people are hiding things from the government. That, in and of itself, is a RIGHT, not a crime.

Buddywh · Mar 1, 2026

DJNelson said:
Seems to me the only people who say things like that are people who don't understand constitutional rights. It doesn't MATTER if people are hiding things from the government. That, in and of itself, is a RIGHT, not a crime.

Agreed: it's your constitutional RIGHT to privacy. But you have no constitutional right to break laws. If they have any reason to suspect you have broken laws, and unless you also have the resources of a billionaire (or multi-millionaire at least), then your life can be turned into a wasteland should you undertake to thwart them at any turn. They will not simply go away as they will when they find a big bunch of nothing.

If that's the way someone wants their life to go then go ahead. I prefer to be practical about it: our laws are reasonable and easy for honorable people to comply with, except maybe for the tin-hat folk. I'm not concerned they'd ever want access to my bitlockerd data.

DJNelson · Mar 1, 2026

Buddywh said:
Agreed: it's your constitutional RIGHT to privacy. But you have no constitutional right to break laws. If they have any reason to suspect you have broken laws, and unless you also have the resources of a billionaire (or multi-millionaire at least), then your life can be turned into a wasteland should you undertake to thwart them at any turn. They will not simply go away as they will when they find a big bunch of nothing.

If that's the way someone wants their life to go then go ahead. I prefer to be practical about it: our laws are reasonable and easy for honorable people to comply with, except maybe for the tin-hat folk. I'm not concerned they'd ever want access to my bitlockerd data.

Poking through someone's private data without a reasonable suspicion of a specific crime is exactly what the forefathers had in mind when they wrote the fourth amendment... said no one, ever.

garlin · Mar 1, 2026

My former employer was a large online services company. Before turning over users' data, the FBI or any legitimate legal authority had to submit a proper court order. For most large companies, it's a formality that the legal affairs department takes care of.

Microsoft sued the US Department of Justice because in one noted case, a customer's data was stored outside of the US (in Ireland) and the Justice Dept. didn't feel like following up with the Irish or EU authorities. This case went to the Supreme Court, and it was eventually dropped because Congress had passed a new law while the case was pending, covering such data requests.

So no, they don't turn over your data without a court order.

XxXxX · Mar 1, 2026

if there are concerns over bitlocker then there is an alternative
VeraCrypt

VeraCrypt - Free Open source disk encryption with strong security for the Paranoid

VeraCrypt is free open-source disk encryption software for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. In case an attacker forces you to reveal the password, VeraCrypt provides plausible deniability. In contrast to file encryption, data encryption performed by VeraCrypt is real-time (on-the-fly), automatic...

veracrypt.io

please remember to change the boot order in the BIOS
so VeraCrypt is first in the boot order.

VeraCrypt reviews

VeraCrypt encryption tool review

An outstanding tool for keeping your important files safe and private

www.techradar.com

VeraCrypt - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

i beleive certain US departments such as Department of Defence use VeraCrypt.
best of luck Steve ..

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