Microsoft Provides BitLocker Keys in Guam Fraud Probe

In early 2025, Microsoft provided federal investigators with recovery keys for its BitLocker encryption software, enabling access to data on three laptops seized in a fraud investigation on the Pacific island of Guam. The handover, prompted by an FBI search warrant, marked the first publicly documented instance of the company complying with such a request from law enforcement.

The case centers on an alleged scheme involving the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities targeted a business owned by Charissa Tenorio, sister of Guam's lieutenant governor, Josh Tenorio. Several individuals, including family members of the lieutenant governor, have been charged with fraud, and the investigation remains ongoing. Court records indicate the FBI raided the business and recovered the encrypted laptops, which contained potential evidence of stolen funds. Without the keys from Microsoft, investigators likely would have been unable to decrypt the devices, as a forensic expert from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations noted in a court filing that his agency lacked tools to bypass BitLocker's encryption.