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Border Agents Fail To Delete Personal Data of Travelers After Electronic Searches, Watchdog Says (gizmodo.com)
The Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog, known as the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that the majority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents fail to delete the personal data they collect from travelers' devices. Last year alone, border agents searched through the electronic devices of more than 29,000 travelers coming into the country. "CBP officers sometimes upload personal data from those devices to Homeland Security servers by first transferring that data onto USB drives -- drives that are supposed to be deleted after every use," Gizmodo reports. From the report: Customs officials can conduct two kinds of electronic device searches at the border for anyone entering the country. The first is called a "basic" or "manual" search and involves the officer visually going through your phone, your computer or your tablet without transferring any data. The second is called an "advanced search" and allows the officer to transfer data from your device to DHS servers for inspection by running that data through its own software. Both searches are legal and don't require a warrant or even probable cause -- at least they don't according to DHS. It's that second kind of search, the "advanced" kind, where CBP has really been messing up and regularly leaving the personal data of travelers on USB drives.
According to the new report [PDF]: "[The Office of the Inspector General] physically inspected thumb drives at five ports of entry. At three of the five ports, we found thumb drives that contained information copied from past advanced searches, meaning the information had not been deleted after the searches were completed. Based on our physical inspection, as well as the lack of a written policy, it appears [Office of Field Operations] has not universally implemented the requirement to delete copied information, increasing the risk of unauthorized disclosure of travelers' data should thumb drives be lost or stolen." The report also found that Customs officers "regularly failed to disconnect devices from the internet, potentially tainting any findings stored locally on the device." It also found that the officers had "inadequate supervision" to make sure they were following the rules. There's also a number of concerning redactions. For example, everything from what happens during an advanced search after someone crosses the border to the reason officials are allowed to conduct an advanced search at all has been redacted.
According to the new report [PDF]: "[The Office of the Inspector General] physically inspected thumb drives at five ports of entry. At three of the five ports, we found thumb drives that contained information copied from past advanced searches, meaning the information had not been deleted after the searches were completed. Based on our physical inspection, as well as the lack of a written policy, it appears [Office of Field Operations] has not universally implemented the requirement to delete copied information, increasing the risk of unauthorized disclosure of travelers' data should thumb drives be lost or stolen." The report also found that Customs officers "regularly failed to disconnect devices from the internet, potentially tainting any findings stored locally on the device." It also found that the officers had "inadequate supervision" to make sure they were following the rules. There's also a number of concerning redactions. For example, everything from what happens during an advanced search after someone crosses the border to the reason officials are allowed to conduct an advanced search at all has been redacted.
Raise your hand if you didn't expect that one...
The still untried solution awaits
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
The Constitution only applies to U.S Citizens.
No it doesn't. The Constitution does not confer rights. It places restrictions on the government. The First Amendment says: "Congress shall make no law.... It doesn't say "no law except on foreigners". No where in the Bill of Rights does it say they only apply to citizens.
These searches are applied to non citizens trying to gain entry to our country.
Wrong. Anyone, citizen or non-citizen, is subject to search when crossing a border, or within the border area.
What's to stop you encrypting your data and storing it somewhere on the internet instead of taking a physical copy through a checkpoint?
If a terrorist wants to bomb a plane, he's going to need to smuggle a bomb past security, so checking people for bombs isn't exactly a stupid idea (whether the balance between safety, security, privacy, and theatrics is good is a whole different matter). But if he's got some "terrorist data" to move around, why would he physically carry it?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Once a non US citizen is in the USA they get all the expected human rights that the US gov has set and accepts.
.... and not mentioning that to the US gov..
Food, water, health care, visits by their embassy.
People just have to stop supporting/funding banned groups when outside one the USA.
Been part of a banned group and not mentioning that fact when asked is a crime.
Supporting a banned group and related funding is a crime when asked about any such activity.
Traveling in a nation that supports banned groups and not telling the US gov about that extra "holiday" when asked is a crime.
Having images taken with wanted criminals who are active members of a banned group
Creating a fake identity to hide past that had a person supporting banned groups.
Banking for banned groups.
Transferring tech and money to nations that have sanctions imposed.
No loss of rights for a non citizen/illegal migrant. When the US gov asks questions when entering the USA, don't hide past events and expect to be allowed in.
Thats why the search of digital data/images/gps is so important. It finds people who support banned groups outside the USA. People who then lie to the US gov.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"