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New US Customs Guidelines Limit Copying Files and Searching Cloud Data (theverge.com)
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency has updated its guidelines for electronic border searches, adding new detail to border search rules that were last officially updated in 2009. The Verge reports: Officers can still request that people unlock electronic devices for inspection when they're entering the U.S., and they can still look through any files or apps on those devices. But consistent with a statement from acting commissioner Kevin McAleenan last summer, they're explicitly banned from accessing cloud data -- per these guidelines, that means anything that can't be accessed while the phone's data connection is disabled. The guidelines also draw a distinction between "basic" and "advanced" searches. If officers connect to the phone (through a wired or wireless connection) and copy or analyze anything on it using external devices, that's an advanced search, and it can only be carried out with reasonable suspicion of illegal activity or a national security concern. A supervisor can approve the search, and "many factors" might create reasonable suspicion, including a terrorist watchlist flag or "other articulable factors."
Hah! I knew it! Trump is a xenophobe who hates immigrants! Oh, wait.
They don't need new access to the cloud because they already have full access.
I've been asked by them to unlock my phone. I happily do. Same for laptop. This is because, expecting this shit, I SCP all the things I care about to me home computer before returning to USA and erase my laptop and phone. They are welcome to inspect the "welcome to android" screen on my phone and "no bootable disk found" screen on my laptop.
-------
1. Enjoy your job
2. Make lots of money
3. Work within the law
Choose any two.
They'll do whatever they want and there is nothing you can do or say about it if you want to travel. We should just end DHS altogether.
What the fuck are they looking for? "My plan to blow up the Whitehouse.doc" sitting on the desktop?
These guidelines are written in pencil. CBP can change these guidelines whenever they want. I agree with the intent of restricting searches, but CBP really can't fix this in a truly satisfactory manner. A significant improvement would be for Congress to pass a law that limits the ability of CBP to conduct searches. It's better than a policy change by CBP, because there's more scrutiny and debate over legislation than of internal policy changes. Nonetheless, it's still written in pencil, and subject to being reversed. A Supreme Court ruling would be better yet, because it would establish precedent that can't so easily be reversed. I'm in favor of amending the Constitution to extend fourth, fifth, and sixth amendment rights to ports of entry.
My beard is longer than 5 cm. I guess I'm fucked.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
Don't people with sensitive personal files use burner phones and laptops to sidestep this argument? Why do people keep pontificating on it?
Everybody knows what needs to be done. Next opportunity comes in November. If you want change you have to *Sweep the House*.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
the 4th amendment shouldn't disappear at the border and it's just a bunch of bits anyway. i want all these people to die. why are these pieces of shit running everything.
How did the old implementation work in practice for foreigners? Due to extortionate data roaming charges (>$5/MB), I always disable data roaming before travelling. Does anyone have horror stories caused by the TSA enabling data roaming and racking up thousands of dollars in bills?
Setup a freebsd/linux server at home, load something like owncloud and openvpn on it and install the owncloud and openvpn apps on your phone to do data syncs. Setup the syncing to backup everything of importance. Wipe the phone before you cross the border, resync on wifi once past the border. For all but the largest of data hoarders you could probably resync it overnight the 1st night in your hotel.
At first, I thought "New US Customs Guidelines Limit Copying Files and Searching Cloud Data" meant they were going to try to make it illegal to load data from the cloud onto your computer that wasn't there already when you passed through customs.
Hell I can't even find stuff on my own computer. Do they use some automated tool to do the search or just nose around a few folders?
I'll never need to worry about this, because I no longer fly and will never again leave the country. But what's preventing you from doing a cloud backup of your device at the hotel before heading hope, and then wiping your device while you're waiting to come through customs? Then tell the customs agent that there's NOTHING on the phone at all. And you wouldn't even be lying.
Section 5.3.4 basically says they can do a full image of your phone without any standard of suspicion and no due process.
N.B. WTF is it with the PDF of the new directive not containing selectable/searchable text? Its fucking 2018 and they can't even get that right? It's almost like they want to make it as hard as possible for citizens to read the new regulations.
So if you're up to any suspicious activity, you just back up all your data to an encrypted backup on a cloud server located outside of the US and wipe your phone before you travel...
All this does is invades the privacy of ordinary people who desire privacy but don't have anything important enough to go to these lengths to hide it.
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
when you're dumb enough to voluntarily use the USB "charging" ports at an airport. Besides, you damn good and well they'll lie their asses off to get you to allow them to do an advance search through clever threats (*clears throat*), I mean wording.
They already have some else doing it. Cough cough cough cough.
Besides they're just guidelines more than anything else!
I fly 25K+ miles a year.
I back up my phone, scrape the settings, and then do a factory reset/full update on it before I fly back to the US.
I have 3 different hard drives I install in my laptop: Work, Serious Work, and Travel. Travel is a "factory new, fully updated, innocent web-use" operating system installation with Firefox.
Don't use encryption. It attracts attention.
Ah well as long as this fascist shit stays in place not travels to the us.
Instead of keeping all your data password-protected on your phone, why not just upload it to our American cloud services where we can trawl through every bit of it?
Favorite Linux flavor on thumb drive. Load whatever onto laptop hard drive. Put thumb drive in wallet. Looks bad, but just use the "Don't want it stolen" excuse. Have I left something out?
Backup your files, factory reset your phone basic phone login, Restore on the other side. For your laptop a second drive with minimal image on it if they want to search.
I don't travel much (and it's always been for business reasons), and the last time I had to cross the US border was probably pre-2000. It boggles the mind that nowadays customs is allowed to force you to log into your computer or phone at all to search their content, and people are actually okay with that. I can absolutely understand searching someone and their luggage or even empty laptops shells, which can be used to bring physical harm to travelers, but looking at data? Piss of.
Until this bullshit stops, I'm *not* travelling to the US anymore - purely out of principle. I've let my passport expire after my last trip (I feel it was a mistake to get one in the first place) and I have no intention whatsoever to ever renew it.
The agent in question was able to articulate a reason for the search. The subject of the search:
1). Has hair, or;
2). Does not have hair, or;
3). Has socks, or ;
4). Does not have socks, or;
5). Likes Rock and Roll music, or;
6). Does not like Rock and Roll music, or;
7). Etc.