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Securing Your Notebook Against US Customs
Nethemas the Great points out a piece from Bruce Schneier running in the UK's Guardian newspaper with some tips for international travelers on securing notebook computers for border crossings. A taste of the brief article:
"Last month a US court ruled that border agents can search your laptop, or any other electronic device, when you're entering the country. They can take your computer and download its entire contents, or keep it for several days. ... Encrypting your entire hard drive, something you should certainly do for security in case your computer is lost or stolen, won't work here. 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."
if your under suspicion for who you are then you are pretty well fucked. But if your just worried about a random security search and wanting to keep certain data private you only need to get past that first step because they will not spend the money to dig deeper even if they do copy your hard drive.
if you are a known individual (person of interest) and you expect to be stopped at the border, don't carry sensitive material with you. Hell, just mail a flash drive.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
>>>"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."
Sounds like a small price to pay in order to protect my right to liberty. Just because the government demands access does not mean I have to comply.
Other people have paid a far higher price for liberty ("the full measure of devotion" aka death).
The government is not your daddy. Its purpose is not to raid middle-class neighbors' wallets and give it to you.
Have all your US and overseas clients meet each other in Toronto, Vancouver or anywhere in Canada for that matter.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
Being detained by customs does not give you a criminal record. If you're a non-citizen, it may indeed cause trouble in entering the country again. To get a criminal record, you must be tried and convicted of a crime.
Some would say we have arrived long ago, but this is certainly a telling mark.
We are discussing "hiding legal and unincriminating" stuff so that we don't get hassled by government police. We have gone far beyond the "if you don't have anything to hide, you have nothing to fear" argument where now, even when you don't you have plenty to fear... in this case, potential loss of ability to work!!
They have been going too far for a while, but this is a point at which even the most common person can appreciate and understand the problem with this.
If the EFF were buying "public awareness" ad time on TV, radio and print (I haven't seen any if they already are) I'd donate $100 each month from now until "we've won" whatever that means. I'm sick of this.
Whenever someone talks about standing up to whatever injustice in some way, someone always comes along to point out the people they're standing up to won't like that.
No shit, Sherlock. That's sort of the point.
If nobody ever stands up to this kind of bullshit, even in these kinds of small ways, it's only going to get worse and we're *all* going to spend a lot more time in tiny cold waiting rooms whenever we try to get anything done.
Does that mean I can shoot the border agent and not be prosecuted under American laws?
:-)
Try not to confuse 'legal fictions' with reality
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Standing up for something only works if you can inconvenience the other guy somehow. Border agents aren't paid by how many people they pass through the border, they're more than happy to let you rot out in the waiting room for hours if you try to make their job difficult. They're not even under any obligation to let you in the country unless you're a citizen returning from a trip. If you give them too much hassle they can (and will) just turn you away.
I read the internet for the articles.
Even as an atheist, my time here is important enough not to waste it with trampled rights.
But otherwise, yes, you're right.