Border Security: We can take your laptop anywhere we want for as long as we want
schneier.com
schneier.com
This program just inconveniences the innocent while solving nothing.
A wiser head than mine once said that in order to understand a seemingly "pointless" bit of policy, try instead to understand what the natural result of that policy would be, and then the "point" would become apparent.
...But I'll stop there because next thing you know, we'll be talking politics at HN.
Backup your stuff always
What's next, secret torture prisons? Oh...
As someone who resides outside the USA, news articles like this cause a HUGE problem for me if I ever wanted to visit the USA.
As a hacker I am already used to being treated to varying degrees as a 'freak' by regular folks.. What happens if a border guard decides to pick on me and then isn't happy when I try to explain why my laptop has no GUI? According to what I've read, not only do I have no rights but I may be detained in uncomfortable conditions for weeks before they send me back to my home country.
That's not to say you shouldn't be concerned, just that political discussion belongs elsewhere, IMO.
Then imagine meeting this super duper hacker Michael Scofield who unfortunately would have also lost his invaluable laptop to the FBI.
You also have a cool button system at the stand which you can rate your experience with the border guard.
Sam Brownback, Kansas.
By the way, I think Mark Twain had it slightly wrong. He should have said "shameless" instead of "an idiot".
That is a brilliant idea. You'd only need one button for INS, tho', which would be labelled "obnoxious".
Mind you the government does not have a right to your password - since it is stored in your mind and you have to basically testify to the password it is a violation of the 5th amendment. However if you have a physical key, they can get a warrant for the key, so use a password and some solid encryption and take multiple copies of data.
They also don't have to let you back in the country. If your plan is to just not tell the agent your password, you might be in for an adventure. From Schneier's earlier article on this subject...
"The border agent is likely to start this whole process with a "please type in your password". Of course you can refuse, but the agent can search you further, detain you longer, refuse you entry into the country and otherwise ruin your day."
I see this provision mostly being used by customs agents who want to steal someone's laptop or ipod for themselves.
i am not saying whether it is right or wrong, just providing some context. why the sudden outrage ?
[...]
DHS officials said that the newly disclosed policies — which apply to anyone entering the country, including US citizens — are reasonable and necessary to prevent terrorism.
[...]
The policies cover 'any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,' including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover 'all papers and other written documentation,' including books, pamphlets and 'written materials commonly referred to as "pocket trash..."
The Constitution is our Contract with the Government, and the Judicial Branch our process. Writing your Representative helps, but giving to lawyers who fight and defend the Constitution from overreaching/overreacting Government Officials is equally important and extremely patriotic IMO.
How else would you run a border? Hey guys, what do you feel like showing me that you're moving? This laptop smells like it has encrypted money on it?
They're not investigating a crime, they're controlling movement. That's their job.
There used to be (and still is, I think) a crime of carrying so much undeclared cash across the border -- whether or not its yours or not. One could argue that the IP contained on a laptop easily could be more valuable than the cash limit, but there are no similar regulations on IP movement. With cell phones becoming e-wallets, seems like it would be easy to walk across the border with a couple hundred k loaded on your cell phone. Strange world, eh?
Encrypt your data and put it in the cloud. Much easier to do than either figuring out what a perfect world would look like or implementing it.
This can be in the form of cash, certificates of deposit, bonds, stocks, and I suppose anything else that has the semblance of real money (gold, etc).