
Digital Privacy at the U.S Border: A New How-To Guide from EFF - dwaxe
https://www.eff.org/press/releases/digital-privacy-us-border-new-how-guide-eff
======
lemming
_The U.S. government reported a five-fold increase in the number of electronic
media searches at the border in a single year, from 4,764 in 2015 to 23,877 in
2016._

It's worth pointing out that this isn't all Trump related, things have been
heading in this direction for a while now. Trump has made the border crossing
into the Stanford Prison Experiment, though.

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df3
For US citizens, encrypting your device, backing up with cloud storage, and
accepting that your device may be seized if you don't provide passwords at the
border sounds like the most usable (albeit imperfect) solution.

I'm not too concerned about my personal data at the moment. I interact with
many non-citizens on a regular basis, and I am concerned that a misinterpreted
Facebook message or email could land them in hot water.

It's not just ourselves we're protecting, but also our friends, family and
colleagues.

~~~
defen
At this point, spending $200 to get a burner laptop and dumb phone for
international travel sounds like a really good investment - it doesn't seem to
be worth the risk of taking your own hardware. Do you want TSA imaging your
laptop (after you've unlocked it for them so they won't confiscate it) and
putting whatever secret keys and embarrassing / private info is on there, into
their own system, forever?

~~~
df3
I travel frequently enough internationally that I need to bring my devices
with me. If ICE (not TSA) asked me to log into my computer or phone, I would
say no and accept the risk that they confiscate my encrypted devices.

The likelihood of ICE asking me to log into my devices and confiscating them
is quite low. The inconvenience of using burner devices is quite high.

This of course assumes that the government is unwilling or unable to defeat
your encryption.

~~~
PeterisP
This assumes that you are a USA citizen; for non-citizens the risk is not
accepting the risk of confiscating the devices but removing their current (and
possibly future) ability to travel to and through USA, which is a major risk
if one travels frequently.

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walterbell
What not to do: [https://medium.com/@thegrugq/stop-fabricating-travel-
securit...](https://medium.com/@thegrugq/stop-fabricating-travel-security-
advice-35259bf0e869)

~~~
fuzzybeard
I feel like the author left out a giant caveat: there's a difference between
going through CBP as a US citizen and as a non-citizen. Non-citizens can be
bounced back home whereas, as I understand it, they HAVE to allow a US citizen
back into the states if he has a valid passport and isn't violating any laws.

~~~
URSpider94
They have to re-admit you if you are a citizen, but in the mean time, they can
search your belongings, seize your devices, detain you for an arbitrary period
of time without a phone call, and interrogate you. Oh, and add you to a watch
list so you are detained every time you enter the country.

In addition, there IS a law on the books that says that you must give
reasonable assistance to CBP in conducting a search, or be subject to a fine
and jail time. CBP construes this to mean that you must give them the
encryption passwords to your devices. EFF and others disagree, but the matter
has never been decided in court, in part because CBP drops the cases if they
are challenged.

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mido22
(as a Non-american), what I am sensing is, either bend over for the inspection
or buzz off and leave your things behind, guess I ll just never visit NYC,
anyway Paris is better for vacations :P

~~~
tutanchamun
I always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and the many
other beautiful national parks, as well as the citys. But with the stuff
that's happened against visitors since 2001 I probably will never visit the
united states ever and stay in europe.

~~~
pawadu
OT:

Although I personally would rather visit one of the big national parks in
Africa.

But since that seems a bit dangerous right now, could you recommend some
interesting national parks in EU-land?

~~~
mido22
come to Sweden, we got lots :)

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grkvlt
Would it help to just take e.g. a kindle with a few best sellers on my
international flight, and keep my uncharged/wiped/whatever devices in hold
baggage? I seem to recall in the US you go through passport control _before_
retrieving your checked bags, right? Although, I also remember having them
searched at JFK last year, maybe at the customs enforcement point after
baggage reclaim? So, maybe not 100% foolproof, depends at what point these
searches by ICE are happening?

~~~
Sir_Substance
Depends on what level of security you want, I guess. The US has a known
history of successfully modifying circuitry of devices mid-transit to monitor
them[1]. I prefer to keep my electronic devices on me when I fly, but more
because I've seen the way baggage handlers throw bags around.

[1][https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-
nsa...](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-nsa-upgrade-
factory-show-cisco-router-getting-implant/)

~~~
grkvlt
And, what level of threat you perceive to be relevant. For myself, I am not
worried about the NSA, TSA or ICE inserting custom hardware into my devices
while they are in transit...

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pawadu
What does HN readers think about this statement?

 _" Depending on your priorities, a Chromebook can make a particularly good
travel laptop when traveling somewhere with decent Internet access. ...
Chromebooks minimize the data stored on the device itself and are particularly
easy to clear or reset."_

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grabcocque
"Your response to this dilemma may vary according to your risk assessment.
However, all travelers should stay calm and respectful, should not lie to
border agents or physically obstruct them, and should plan for this dilemma
ahead of time. Try to document or politely ask for the names, badge numbers,
and agencies of the government officers you interact with."

I don't mean to be churlish but this advice is pretty weak sauce. I mean, I
understand why they don't want necessarily want to admit the truth, that if
you're a foreign national and you don't comply things will get nasty and
you'll almost certainly be deported.

However, that sadly seems to be the truth of Trump's TSA, and if the truth
stinks, don't sugar coat it.

~~~
moonka
It does call it out in the guide.

>Border agents cannot deny a U.S. citizen admission to the country. However,
if a foreign visitor declines, an agent may deny them entry. If a lawful
permanent resident declines, agents may raise complicated questions about
their continued status as a resident.

~~~
grabcocque
I see that, but it still doesn't fundamentally address what you should do.

1) comply - possibly incriminating yourself, endangering your security and
anyone you have contact with

or

2) refuse, get arrested, harassed, deported and probably placed on some kind
of watch list as a known troublemaker

Which should you choose?

~~~
moonka
I'm not sure there's a third choice currently.

~~~
infinite8s
Don't travel to the US seems to be the only 3rd option.

~~~
tremon
Also don't fly through US airspace, don't do stopovers in Canada either
(because the larger Canadian airports have US officers).

~~~
schoen
If you're talking about the preclearance facilities in the Canadian airports,
they only inspect people who are departing on flights to the U.S.

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gunnyguy121
could I just separate my hard drive from my laptop? could they confiscate one
or the other? could they put them together?

~~~
southbridge
_Underrated post_

