
Pair Locking Your iPhone - arkadiyt
https://arkadiyt.com/2019/10/07/pair-locking-your-iphone-with-configurator-2/
======
noident
If you want to keep your phone secure, enable a long passcode, turn on full
device encryption, and turn it off. If you are a US citizen, you can't be
turned away at the border or forced to unlock the device. If you're not a US
citizen or don't want to be harrassed by customs, bring a burner phone.

Tools like Cellebrite can and do take advantage of security vulnerabilities.
Turning off pair locking lulls users into a false sense of security and is
therefore harmful. Further, only restricting CBP searches to "manual" searches
isn't enough and does plenty of damage to your privacy.

~~~
woutr_be
I really wish Apple would put something in place where you effectively have
two user accounts. If you type your actually passcode, it's just your normal
account. If you type another specific passcode, it's a burner account with
minimal apps and information. It has enough info to make it look like it's
being used, but nothing important.

Obviously border control would quickly know about this, but there's no way to
verify.

~~~
noident
Attempting to deceive CBP through hidden volumes and the like is not
recommended.

[https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-privacy-us-
border-2017](https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-privacy-us-border-2017)

~~~
DoubleGlazing
It's worse than that in some cases. I used to work for a big 4 consulting firm
and they had some horror stories about border device searches.

The company policy for travel outside the EU was simple... Your own laptop
would go into a server room and become a remote desktop host, you'd be given a
blank laptop. When you got to your destination safely you'd call up IT who'd
tell you where to download the VPN software and provide you login details. If
asked why you laptop was blank by border agents you were instructed to give
them a copy of the company IT policy.

Which is all well and good border agents demand you go through the above
process and log in to the VPN and then remote in to your own laptop. It
happened on multiple occasions in several countries and in most cases the
employee was deported after refusing to comply.

~~~
draugadrotten
Why did the big 4 consulting firm think that it was so important to hide the
laptop data from the government during the border search?

~~~
magashna
Many companies have policies, especially when visiting China, to send in users
with blank devices and wipe the devices on return.

------
Nextgrid
Note that this disables the use of Activation Lock, so in case of theft the
bad guy can erase the device and resell it.

Also this won’t actually protect you against bootrom exploits.

~~~
2rsf
I don't get the benefit of Activation Lock, a thief will find it out only
AFTER your phone was stolen, I doubt they will give it back to you.

It's the same as with GPS / Position Car Alarms- it's great for your insurance
company, but in most cases I don't want to get my car back damaged or in
pieces

~~~
earenndil
It's like herd immunity: if most phones have an activation lock, then thieves
are less incentivized to steal them. Obviously they can still sell them for
parts, but they're worth less.

~~~
2rsf
In theory it's not needed since you could report your phone's IMEI as stolen
and the phone would be block, for some reason it's not common among operators

[https://www.gsma.com/services/gsma-imei/imei-
blacklisting/](https://www.gsma.com/services/gsma-imei/imei-blacklisting/)

~~~
Nextgrid
An iPhone can still be used without cellular data as a "premium" iPod touch,
plus blacklists aren't worldwide and phones can be sold in foreign countries
(a worldwide blacklist can be problematic due to standards of proof for theft
and corruption being different - do you really want a third-world country to
be able to dictate which phones can and can't be used worldwide?).

------
kccqzy
An alternative: make a full backup of your phone, then restore your phone with
a different backup with less personal information, and then once you cross the
border you restore your phone using the first backup.

~~~
Osiris
This was super easy when I had TWRP recovery.

Is there an official Android way to pull a full system backup?

~~~
jeroenhd
Since the release of Android 6 apps have the ability to back up data to a
Google account. I don't know if all apps make use of this feature, but many of
the important ones I use do. Just signing in to the right Google account will
pose the question of if you want to restore data from a different device or
not.

There's also a backup mechanism built into ADB. This is a manual process that
puts a copy of all apps and information (but probably not security keys) on
your computer, optionally encrypted with a PASSWORD. Google deprecated this
functionality though. See here for a short guide:
[https://9to5google.com/2017/11/04/how-to-backup-restore-
andr...](https://9to5google.com/2017/11/04/how-to-backup-restore-android-
device-data-android-basics/)

There's always TWRP/Titanium Backup if you have root access, or in the worst
case scenario, starting a root shell over ADB in recovery mode and just DD-ing
the entire data partition to a file in your computer.

~~~
zeveb
> Since the release of Android 6 apps have the ability to back up data to a
> Google account.

That does have the unfortunate side-effect of giving Google your application
data.

------
kazinator
> _Pair locking is a useful feature to protect yourself against invasive
> device searches._

Probably also a good way to get onto no-fly lists, and spend hours in
detention, etc.

~~~
jwr
I find this whole discussion (including the above comment) surreal, given that
we are talking about the country that used to be called "the land of the free"
and that claims superiority over countries that restrict freedoms.

~~~
taneq
The more I hear about the U.S. the less I want to go there, for any reason,
ever.

I'm sure the people are lovely but the government is scary.

~~~
jen729w
Aussie/British here so YMMV if you’re from somewhere less white.

Go to the States. It’s _amazing_. Almost none of what you read here actually
happens. I’ve been a bunch of times in the last few years and the border
people have been nothing but lovely.

The countryside is amazing. The food is ridiculous. The people are
extraordinary — and I’m a leftie who happily says that of the good folk of
Alabama.

We can’t wait to go back. Next road-trip will probably take us from Washington
state to Chicago.

~~~
fernandotakai
while i agree (i absolutely love visiting the US, i travel there once a year
at least), the problem is not the country itself.

it's getting there. it's getting a visa, being harassed by CBP officers and
TSA.

------
jakobdabo
You can also do a hardware mod by swapping some data pins on the connector and
soldering a special cable just for you.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Any reason one couldn’t remove the lightning port entirely? And charge only
wirelessly (Qi), using Bluetooth for audio?

~~~
nobodyshere
The only reason might be something only available through the lightning port.
The only thing I can imagine is trying to restore from backup if the OS got
messed up for some reason or the screen is broken and touch UI is not an easy
option.

------
skrebbel
> If you lose access to your laptop or pairing record then you will also be
> locked out of connecting to your phone.

I never understood why people do this. What if you pour coffee over the laptop
and it'll never boot up anymore? Buy a new phone too?

~~~
raimue
I would assume this supervision identity is part of your keychain as usual on
macOS and could even be exported. It is not bound to any physical property of
that particular laptop. A backup should be enough to avoid the scenario you
are describing. You should be able to acces the iPhone after importing the
supervision identity on any another Mac.

~~~
gergles
It's not in the keychain. You can back up /var/db/lockdown, though.

------
classified
Securing a single phone is a half measure at best, and your phone might get
seized. Also, CBP, TSA and colleagues will do what they can to fuck you extra
hard when sensing resistance to their ramming their noses up your cavities.
The only true remedy is to get the US back on track with being a democracy and
respecting the Constitution again.

~~~
blue_devil
Is simply crossing a border a "reasonable" search and seizure under the Fourth
Amendment? Is there a legal precedent for that?

~~~
michaelt
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_search_exception](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_search_exception)

Since the first border search statute was enacted in 1789, customs officials
have essentially been authorised to search anything crossing the border,
without warrant. It was approved by the first US congress, which counted James
Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and John Adams among its
members. The original target was ships that might be carrying taxable goods.

Warrantless border searches are literally older than the fourth amendment,
which was only ratified in 1791.

~~~
blue_devil
Thanks for the pointer.

It seems like it's not so clear-cut, with lots of fine legal points around
search on person vs. property, digital vs. analog/physical "goods", the
individual suspicion requirement etc etc.:

>>At a minimum, the Eleventh Circuit’s decision makes clear that this issue
isn’t likely to resolve itself. The case for clarity from a higher court—or
from Congress—is only getting stronger.

[https://www.lawfareblog.com/summary-circuit-split-device-
sea...](https://www.lawfareblog.com/summary-circuit-split-device-searches-
border-us-v-touset)

I find it lamentable that the people who sued the US Government for the
legality of these searches were both involved with child pornography.

~~~
rtkwe
It's the unfortunate fact that any privacy protecting program will also
protect people generally deemed morally reprehensible. There's no way to make
software tell the distinction between the two groups so it's something both
programmers and privacy advocates are going to have to deal with because there
will always be people both in and out of government who will use those cases
to push for their abolition. (see the never ending boomerang of anti-
encryption legislation around the world)

------
tehalex
I do wonder if supervising devices lowers security overall.

Apple has been moving a number of the 'heavy hand' management permissions to
only apply to supervised devices - for example "global http proxy" [1], which
can be loaded onto a device through safari on a link to an plist on an
unlocked device or through a management server (MDM), forces all http/https
traffic though a proxy only applies on supervised devices.

Also Apple announced at WWDC [3] that blocking host pairing in Configurator is
going away in favor of the restriction setting blocking it [2]

[1]
[https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/g...](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/globalhttpproxy)

[2] allowHostPairing restriction at
[https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/r...](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/restrictions)

[3]
[https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/303/](https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/303/)

------
m0zg
This is a dumb idea if you want to actually take your flight in this situation
instead of spending hours discussing privacy with TSA agents.

But I also wonder what is it that they expect to find during these searches.
In the world where I can transfer my criminal activity data through the likes
of Dropbox (in encrypted form, of course), why would I have it on my phone or
a laptop? What's the goal here?

~~~
ixtli
As a US citizen i would only expect someone to force me to unlock my phone at
a US port of entry, not when leaving. And yeah i'm willing to waste their time
on my way back from the trip if they try to waste mine.

~~~
m0zg
That only works if you don't have a connecting flight to catch. If you do,
your willingness to waste time might plunge considerably. That's what they
count on.

~~~
ixtli
Yeah that’s why I said port of entry. I meant that this is fine for me if I’m
exiting the airport.

------
sdan
Asking general HN audience: Are you willing to do this?

I don't travel often, but this looks like a good option to have... although I
don't really do any finicky stuff with machines/phones/etc that I use
regularly. if I were using a RPI3 as a phone then I'd 100% do something like
this (hope you understand the analogy).

~~~
14
I would say the only good option is to try only travel to countries that
respect privacy and realise scanning phones is security theatre. Because if
you go to a country and they want access to your phone these kind of tricks
will prevent them from opening it but ultimately I imagine you would be sent
back to where you came from.

~~~
hughes
I don't think avoiding the USA is a realistic option for a lot of HN readers.

~~~
Nextgrid
I somehow manage to have a comfortable career & good money while having never
stepped foot in the US (and no intentions to do so). It’s not impossible or
even that difficult.

~~~
keiferski
_”In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I
've been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like
criticizing anyone, he told me, just remember that all the people in this
world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”_

------
withinrafael
Very interested to hear if anything like this exists on the Android side.

------
clamprecht
I wish Apple would introduce a "Border crossing mode". Not gonna happen.

~~~
OriginalPenguin
Luckily Android has that mode. They call it "Lockdown".

Here's some info on it: [https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-use-
android-9-pi...](https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-use-
android-9-pie-lockdown-mode/)

~~~
rusteh1
Does this provide any protection? I've never undergone any sort of 'digital
search' do they force you to provide your passcode? Do the forensics tools
they use bypass user level protections like pin codes/finger prints?

~~~
rendall
They can ask. You can refuse. If you refuse they can seize your device. If you
are not a US citizen, they can deny you entry to the country.

Read the EFF Digital Privacy guide for the Full Monty:
[https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-privacy-us-
border-2017](https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-privacy-us-border-2017)

------
zw123456
I think a cool product would be a cloud phone, where your phone is actually a
VM in the cloud and your physical phone would be a bland minimal image. That
way if they ever look at it they find nothing. But you can access your VM
cloud phone from any device even a burner. You could even buy a burner at the
airport after clearing customs and then log into your VM cloud phone.

~~~
geggam
Because the govt cant get your data from a cloud ?

------
thrwo234234
I'm all for privacy but isn't this paranoia with device security a distraction
? It's likely that half a dozen companies have access to your contacts list,
and Google, Facebook etc. almost certainly log information about the people
you call and are in contact with. Anyone who uses an iphone for 'nefarious'
purposes is not very smart.

~~~
hannasanarion
It is not a distraction, because suspicionless electronics searches at borders
are becoming increasingly common. Facebook knows a lot about you, but do you
really want to give all that information to CBP?

~~~
thrwo234234
It's only a matter of time before Facebook integration with security services
(not just the NSA) becomes seamless. In fact it's already happening - Trump
has made social media scanning a pre-requisite for US visas (it's likely this
will be extended to US citizens). In contrast, the device itself holds
relatively little information that can't be obtained from other sources.

------
techdoctr
You could also create an MDM profile from Apple configurator and disable the
lighting port to only be used for charging.

~~~
rtkwe
Is there a way to do that that doesn't also disable it's use as the headphone
jack?

------
jackvalentine
Break the lightning port and charge wirelessly.

“Yeah the charging port doesn’t work anymore sorry.”

------
paulsutter
Is there really a need to connect to your phone at all, ever? I’ve never found
a use for the feature since iCloud

> If you lose access to your laptop or pairing record then you will also be
> locked out of connecting to your phone.

------
SamuelAdams
Looks like Apple Configurator is only available on Macintosh devices. I only
use Windows 10 and Linux computers. Is there any way to lock it using a
different OS?

------
miguelmota
Using an additional burner phone won't cost much and it's probably better than
relying on a second device for unlocking your phone, or wiping your phone and
restoring it when you arrive, because it's less time consuming and won't raise
as much suspicion. I've heard of people shipping their phone to the
destination before they fly but I'd be concerned if it gets lost or tampered
with.

------
JTbane
I don't travel internationally very often, but I'm considering just backing up
my entire phone/laptop and wiping it, then restoring from the cloud when I
arrive.

------
S_A_P
Im not sure I will bring a phone with me if I travel abroad. I may get a
burner flip phone or something, but no smartphone for sure.

------
UglycupRawky
Isn't this dangerous if you ever loose your computer?

------
javajosh
Isn't it possible that searching your phone at the border is security theater?
I think it's likely that the US already has permanent, remote access to most
phones.

~~~
saagarjha
> Isn't it possible that searching your phone at the border is security
> theater?

I mean, many people believe that many of the things that the TSA or CBP do are
a security theater.

> I think it's likely that the US already has permanent, remote access to most
> phones.

There seems to be a large number of cases where law enforcement were denied
access to a device and seemingly were stymied by this fact (detaining the
owner, etc.) What makes you think that they're doing this just because?

~~~
javajosh
_> What makes you think that they're doing this just because?_

I don't think they'd do it "just because". I think the NSA has access to all
devices, but they don't necessarily share that access with lower-level
agencies. And yet, the NSA wouldn't want people to know that they have such
good access, and so it would be necessary to a) not act on everything, and b)
maintain the appearance that they don't have that access.

I think it's likely if only because of the complexity of devices, and the fact
that it is easy to hide both intentional and unintentional flaws that would
permit access. Certainly there is a huge motivation to use modern devices as
part of a panopticon network, which would give anyone a huge advantage in
almost every aspect of life - economically, politically, and militarily. Plus,
with new and egregiously powerful exploits constantly being found in the wild,
who knows what's possible with the total cooperation of manufacturers?

~~~
godelski
I think there's a difference.

Could the NSA get into any phone?

I'm pretty sure they could.

Did the NSA do a massive attack and introduce backdoors?

I don't think so. I think that large of a scale thing would be likely noticed
and it would have to involve a lot of players that would need to keep silent.
Players that don't work for the US government or in the US. It's pretty
obvious that it's hard to keep secrets.

