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One of the things we discussed on the last Elite Tech News podcast was the newly acquired ability for border control agents to seize laptops, phones, cameras and other electronic devices that may contain material suitable for incriminating the owners.  The general consensus of the panelists was that this was always an option for folks in law enforcement but it would rarely ever be exercised due to the fact that there really isn’t a whole lot anyone can do in searching a computer at the border in order to determine whether or not criminal activity was evidenced on it.
Leave it to Microsoft to rectify that situation for us.  The Seattle Times today has profiled a new technology they’ve put together that can rapidly extract forensic data from computers used in the commission of a crime.  The technology is called COFEE (Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor), and is software built into a USB drive.  While the technology is just now coming to light, it has been in use since last June, having been distributed to 350 different law enforcement agencies.
The device apparently works by quickly sending around 150 commands to the machine in question that either gather data and copy it to the device or quickly analyze it and return the results of the queries.  It includes strong password decryption routines, scans of Internet activity and probes on the data stored on the computer.
Is Microsoft doing this to engage a new market and create a new profit center?  No, apparently this comes from an attack of conscience to the company.
“These are things that we invest substantial resources in, but not from the perspective of selling to make money,” Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith in an interview with the Seattle Times. “We’re doing this to help ensure that the Internet stays safe.”

mashable.com