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EU gives staff 'burner phones, laptops' for US visits

35 points by Tomte 2y ago

jmkd 2y ago
Source: https://archive.is/nxjxG https://archive.is/nxjxG
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
docdeek 2y ago
>> "The transatlantic alliance is over," an EU official told the newspaper, which reported the commission "is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage — a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China.” The US has been spying on government officials from the EU - sometimes with the help of other EU member states - for years. [0] What is surprising is that despite knowing this to be the case, the EC is only now supplying burner phones and devices. States may have allies, but their own national interests will always come before those allies. [0]: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-security-agency-spied-merkel-other-top-european-officials-through-danish-2021-05-30/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-security-agency-spie...
- surgical_fire 2y ago
  I think that all countries spy on one another, allies or not. That is pretty much a given. The difference as I see it is that the EU does not see the US as a regular ally doing its intelligence gathering thing. It now sees the US as a hostile foreign state, and some more measures to protect itself have to be taken.
comrade1234 2y ago
In macOS, when you do an encrypted backup (includes passwords for accounts) of your iPhone, where is that backup stored? Could I save that backup to somewhere, wipe my phone, travel to the USA, download the backup, and then restore the phone with the backup?
- init2null 2y ago
  You can back up iOS or iPadOS to a directory using PC or Mac (edit: 3rd-party apps like iMazing work especially well for this). For some reason the backup stores as hundreds of files strewn through hundreds of directories, but it does work. But since a wiped phone could be deemed suspicious, I'd suggest that you get the clean install personalized and usable.
- jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago
  If this is a concern you have, you should use software that works for you.
freilanzer 2y ago
At this point I would refuse to travel to the USA at all, not only for vacation, but also for work. Imagine being locked up for weeks or months because you need to visit the us-based office.
- surgical_fire 2y ago
  > Imagine being locked up for weeks Or being shipped to some concentration camp in El Salvador, in hopes it is not upgraded to death camp.
Harvesterify 2y ago
The initial report was denied though: https://x.com/lorenzofb/status/1911829523659653137 https://x.com/lorenzofb/status/1911829523659653137
ChrisArchitect 2y ago
[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43680556 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43680556
stanislavb 2y ago
Why was this flagged?

35 points by Tomte 2y ago

jmkd 2y ago

Source: https://archive.is/nxjxG https://archive.is/nxjxG

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

docdeek 2y ago

>> "The transatlantic alliance is over," an EU official told the newspaper, which reported the commission "is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage — a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China.” The US has been spying on government officials from the EU - sometimes with the help of other EU member states - for years. [0] What is surprising is that despite knowing this to be the case, the EC is only now supplying burner phones and devices. States may have allies, but their own national interests will always come before those allies. [0]: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-security-agency-spied-merkel-other-top-european-officials-through-danish-2021-05-30/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-security-agency-spie...

surgical_fire 2y ago
I think that all countries spy on one another, allies or not. That is pretty much a given. The difference as I see it is that the EU does not see the US as a regular ally doing its intelligence gathering thing. It now sees the US as a hostile foreign state, and some more measures to protect itself have to be taken.

comrade1234 2y ago

In macOS, when you do an encrypted backup (includes passwords for accounts) of your iPhone, where is that backup stored? Could I save that backup to somewhere, wipe my phone, travel to the USA, download the backup, and then restore the phone with the backup?

init2null 2y ago
You can back up iOS or iPadOS to a directory using PC or Mac (edit: 3rd-party apps like iMazing work especially well for this). For some reason the backup stores as hundreds of files strewn through hundreds of directories, but it does work. But since a wiped phone could be deemed suspicious, I'd suggest that you get the clean install personalized and usable.
jxjnskkzxxhx 2y ago
If this is a concern you have, you should use software that works for you.

freilanzer 2y ago

At this point I would refuse to travel to the USA at all, not only for vacation, but also for work. Imagine being locked up for weeks or months because you need to visit the us-based office.

surgical_fire 2y ago
> Imagine being locked up for weeks Or being shipped to some concentration camp in El Salvador, in hopes it is not upgraded to death camp.

Harvesterify 2y ago

The initial report was denied though: https://x.com/lorenzofb/status/1911829523659653137 https://x.com/lorenzofb/status/1911829523659653137

ChrisArchitect 2y ago

[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43680556 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43680556

stanislavb 2y ago

Why was this flagged?