5 ms·
I’ve always found it ridiculous that the content of devices is fair game. There is literally nothing on a phone that couldn’t be digitally downloaded after cro
by makecheck 10y ago
I’ve always found it ridiculous that the content of devices is fair game. There is literally nothing on a phone that couldn’t be digitally downloaded after crossing the border (therefore no “threat” by bringing the phone with you). Similarly, there is no possible way to harm an airplane based on what is present on a laptop; and even if there were, you could buy in-flight WiFi and download the bits after boarding. You could cross the checkpoint with a blank device and in seconds have it populated with whatever you wanted to have. It’s insane.
- drvdevd 10y agoRight - and apparently this is exactly what you should do. Always travel with throwaway and/or wiped devices. Don't trust a device that's been seized and returned.
- toomuchtodo 10y agoI can't upvote this enough. I'm a law abiding citizen, but I still wipe my phone and restore from iCloud after I've made my way through customs or border control.
- drvdevd 10y agoYes and you have to keep in mind that just because someone has the legal authority to seize your posession, you have no reason to trust that what they will do with it will be legal as well. For all you know they can do any number of stupid and/or malicious things with your device that don't reflect the intentions of the government they represent either (being generous here). They are just people, after all.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- AJ007 10y agoIf you run a startup with millions of users it is reckless to assume you will not be the target of industrial espionage when crossing a foreign border or traveling in a foreign state.
- wheelerwj 10y agoif its in icloud, they don't need to take your phone...
- bigbugbag 10y agoI don't think border agents take phones because they need to.
- upstarter 10y ago> I still wipe my phone and restore from iCloud after I've made my way through customs or border control. It's not enough to just re-install the OS. You have to have your hardware recycled (discarded). Within a couple of seconds, they can put spyware onto your firmware by simply inserting a prepared USB device. The only way to get rid of that kind of spyware is to destroy the hardware. The other solution is to not travel to any totalitarian countries or to travel there without any hardware, if you must.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- throw2016 10y agoNo what you should do is realise you live in a democracy, which was passed on to you by the blood and sweat of previous generations, recognize that our generation in its complacency and greed has allowed it to be be hijacked by a bunch of despots and accept the responsibility to secure it for future generations. You should not acknowledge, recognize or legitimise these 'unnatural rights'.
- koolba 10y ago> I’ve always found it ridiculous that the content of devices is fair game. There is literally nothing on a phone that couldn’t be digitally downloaded after crossing the border (therefore no “threat” by bringing the phone with you). Not quite that it's "no threat", more like no additional threat than memorizing a long passphrase and downloading / decrypting your illegal Canadian porno on the other side. > Similarly, there is no possible way to harm an airplane based on what is present on a laptop; and even if there were, you could buy in-flight WiFi and download the bits after boarding. You could cross the checkpoint with a blank device and in seconds have it populated with whatever you wanted to have. It’s insane. It's not insane though. The point isn't to catch anything, it's to acclimate the populace to this type of search and seizure. Kind of like how refusing to go through the body scanners at the airport earns you "What's up with that guy?" looks from other travelers.
- branchless 10y agoSomeone should mod android so when you enter a second password it wipes everything but gives the appearance of a regular login.
- kbenson 10y agoAlthough then you'll probably run afoul of some jurisdictions that make it illegal to lie to the police in some circumstances (not that it necessarily needs to apply, it's the sort of thing they might throw at you to make an example and dissuade others, and quietly drop after they've caused enough mayhem in your life).
- branchless 10y agoCan they know? Not most the clowns on the borders. It wouldnt brick it, just rm a directory and background shred.
- finid 10y agoThat would be like the cryptosetup nuke patch on Kali Linux - http://linuxbsdos.com/2014/01/14/apply-the-nuke-patch-to-luks-cryptsetup-in-linux-mint-16-and-ubuntu-13-10/ http://linuxbsdos.com/2014/01/14/apply-the-nuke-patch-to-luk...
- finid 10y agoCryptosetup is at version 1.7.x, but the latest patch was for cryptosetup 1.6.x. So the existing patch does not work for the latest cryptosetup.
- TallGuyShort 10y agoBetween the quality airport Wi-Fi and the fact that they ask you nicely to put your phone in airplane mode, I submit to you that it's mildly inconvenient to download malicious stuff after security checkpoints.
- patmcc 10y agoI don't think they'd ever make the argument that the content itself is dangerous - but it may give them more information about you, and let them decide that you are dangerous. At an extreme - if you had a document plan_to_takedown_flight_123ABC.pdf or diary_about_my_drug_smuggling_operation.txt, whether or not the data itself is a threat, it could indicate that you are. I mean, I think it's bullshit, the same way I think most security screening and border guard questioning is bullshit, but if you wanted to maximize your border security (and keep out, ahem, "undesirables") and don't care about people's privacy, it's perfectly logical.
- thatcat 10y agoI would hate to be a fiction writer crossing boarders.
- labster 10y agoMost boarders are pirates, so I wouldn't want to cross them either.
- disposablezero 10y agoNawh, they're just a few days late on rent.
- grandimass 10y ago> if you wanted to maximize your border security... it's perfectly logical If your threat model is that someone capable enough to take down a flight is dumb enough to keep "plan_to_takedown_flight_123ABC.pdf" on their laptop, then it's logical. Otherwise you're wasting resources and _minimizing_ your security.
- wheelerwj 10y agoyea, it's a nice attempt to justify your actions, but when drug smuggling and gun running is conducted by federal agencies and the TSA fails 95% of bomb detection tests, you have to wonder what the actual goal is.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- upstarter 10y ago> I’ve always found it ridiculous that the content of devices is fair game. Even more important to me is the fact that once you lose exclusive physical control over your hardware, you must consider it compromised, and therefor have it recycled (it is enough to simply connect a prepared USB device to your device for a couple of seconds in order for you to lose total control over it and be under permanent and total remote surveillance). To me, this is more than enough of a reason to simply not travel to countries like the US (and now apparently Canada as well) anymore. And any such country certainly doesn't deserve us.
- jliptzin 10y agoOut of curiosity where do you live now?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]