Great target for hackers then, the server with unencrypted bitlocker keys on it.

Microsoft has confirmed in a statement to Forbes that the company will provide the FBI access to BitLocker encryption keys if a valid legal order is requested. These keys enable the ability to decrypt and access the data on a computer running Windows, giving law enforcement the means to break into a device and access its data.

The news comes as Forbes reports that Microsoft gave the FBI the BitLocker encryption keys to access a device in Guam that law enforcement believed to have “evidence that would help prove individuals handling the island’s Covid unemployment assistance program were part of a plot to steal funds” in early 2025.

This was possible because the device in question had its BitLocker encryption key saved in the cloud. By default, Windows 11 forces the use of a Microsoft Account, and the OS will automatically tie your BitLocker encryption key to your online account so that users can easily recover their data in scenarios where they might get locked out. This can be disabled, letting you choose where to save them locally, but the default behavior is to store the key in Microsoft’s cloud when setting up a PC with a Microsoft Account.

[…]

It’s frankly shocking that the encryption keys that do get uploaded to Microsoft aren’t encrypted on the cloud side, too. That would prevent Microsoft from seeing the keys, but it seems that, as things currently stand, those keys are available in an unencrypted state, and it is a privacy nightmare for customers.

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Source: Microsoft gave FBI BitLocker keys, raising privacy fears | Windows Central

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