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NZ Customs Wants Power To Require Passwords

Posted by samzenpus on from the papers-please dept.

First time accepted submitter Orange Roughy writes New Zealand customs are seeking powers to obtain passwords and encryption keys for travelers. Supposedly they will only act to obtain credentials if it was acting on 'some intelligence or observation of abnormal behaviour.' People who refuse to hand over credentials could face up to three months jail time. From the story: "Customs boss Carolyn Tremain has told MPs the department would only request travellers hand over passwords to their electronic devices if it had a reason to be suspicious about what was on them. The department unleashed a furore last week when it said in a discussion paper that it should be given unrestricted power to force people to divulge passwords to their smartphones and computers at the border. That would be without Customs officials having to show they had any grounds for suspicion."

11 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. Strong public relations by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Kills tourism to N.Z.

    1. Re: Strong public relations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Fine. We do not believe you, go to jail. When you grow up you'll learn that playing smartass with people who literally own your life is not only foolish but suicidal. You have no concept or understanding of the imbalance of power between you and them, do you?

    2. Re:Strong public relations by ruir · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Oh yes it happens. I have "nothing to hide" but wont travel to parts of the world that do not respect my rights to privacy. What I alone? I sincerely doubt it.

    3. Re: Strong public relations by Karmashock · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You can have hidden encrypted information.

      You're starting an arms race. Cisco is already shipping routers to dead drops in a bid to avoid NSA interceptions.

      The entire tech ecosystem is reacting to increased surveillance.

      The average user you will get it. But person with something to hide? They'll install a bit of encryption software that will not only encrypt the data but make it look like it doesn't even exist.

      And if there is something you have a bogus encrypted file that is decrypted instead.

      There are lots of means of dealing with this stuff.

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    4. Re: Strong public relations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Perhaps. But anyone disagreeing is just a deluded fool. You do not antagonize Authority, not in this day and age. Not if you hold your life dear. You want my passwords? Fine. Have them. I have learned long ago that avoiding anything that might be considered "questionable" is the wisest course of action. What do you gain for playing rebel? Nothing.

    5. Re: Strong public relations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      People like you made Nazi Germany a reality. Good job.

    6. Re: Strong public relations by gadget+junkie · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It won't happen. It's been demonstrated over and over again that people are willing and often eager to comply with the authorities' requests. More likely, other countries will follow soon and the day will come when this is law everywhere. We live in the Surveillance Age now. Deal with it.

      Of course they are. the great unwashed do not see the point, and the others use some form of plausible deniability encryption.
      This is the usual PHB event in which a high official misread some bad science in a hairdresser magazine, asked that something be done about it to an even more ignorant burocrat, and lo and behold, something was eventually done.
      nothing to see here.

      --
      "If a boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty." (John Boyd, 1927-1997)
    7. Re: Strong public relations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Better yet, when travelling - the best security is physical security. Don't take important crap with you, keep it on a secure server in your mother country.

      Laptops should be dumb terminals, nothing more.

  2. Standard practice for a department by Harlequin80 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A department such as customs, police, wellfare etc. will always ask for the maximum possible powers. It is a given. There can be no argument against the fact that a speed camera on every light pole will lower the amount of speeders (either by fear or getting them off the roads). The police therefore will ask for that.

    The role of the legislative body is to control the power of the departments and offset their wants against the negative outcomes of those wants. *Customs* We want everyone's password *Legislature* No, but you can seize equipment and a password may be demanded by a judge.

    The fact that they don't always get it right is a different issue.

  3. Re:Decoy by khasim · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Use a throwaway for traveling and upload to a 'cloud' drive during the trip.

    Yes! Do that!

    While you are travelling you are at higher risk for your stuff to be STOLEN.

    So make sure that the thieves (or customs officials) only get hardware.

    Learn how to securely access your files/data remotely.

    Trying to be secretive with hidden partitions and such just runs the risk that you might encounter the one customs agent who knows something about computers. Be boring. Be the most boring person they've ever seen. Have NOTHING of interest to ANYONE on your systems. No pictures/music/movies/anything.

  4. Re: What do you expect to find? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think you're underestimating how stupid some people are.