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."

Comments

erase before entry

[dmitrygr]

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.

Re:erase before entry

[cfalcon]

You just tell them you always wipe your shit in case it is stolen in transit. It isn't false just because one government or another is the most likely thief, it's a 100% true statement.

I don't think erasure is always going to work if they plug stuff in, but the newest phones at least have a key that everything is encrypted with that can be wiped. It's still a risk. On a computer of course, you can be pretty safe if you delete an encrypted partition and overwrite with zeros or whatever pattern your religion dictates.