US border agents are doing 'digital strip searches'. Here's how to protect yourself

[Equinox Moon]

Source: The Guardian (US)

Border agents carry out these invasive searches without any warrant or even suspicion, going through text messages, social media accounts and photos, while asking the owner about the people they are interacting with, their religious affiliations and travel patterns.

The lack of transparency over the process has led the free speech watchdog to file a freedom of information lawsuit, seeking to obtain the DHS’s rules for “suspicionless” searches of mobile devices. The Institute wants to know what exactly immigration officials are looking for and how they decide who to target.

“There’s a basic privacy concern with forcing people to be subjected to a digital strip search simply for having crossed the nation’s borders,” said Abdo.

So what can people do to protect their personal data?
“The ideal thing to do is to leave your main phone and laptop at home and go across the border with a burner phone,” said Sinha...

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/31/us-border-phone-computer-searches-how-to-protect

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The article begins with an example of a USA-born, NASA employee stopped from re-entry to US after a 2-week vacation in Chile. They asked for his phone (took it to another room for 30-minutes) and threatened "detention" if he did not comply.

I am so glad we have watch-dog groups to help fight on behalf of all of us and our rights. They step up to the challenge and look into what the hell our government is doing.

[Equinox Moon]

1. Idea:

What if a person brought their E-device leaving the country and mailed it back home via express when it is time to return? It doesn't sound like they search the E-devices as people leave our country, right?

[aggiesal]

5. Yes, but you can't mail the battery.

[mwooldri]

12. USPS Publication 52 Revision: New Mailing Standards for Lithium Batteries

http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2015/pb22408/html/updt_008.htm

It's okay to mail that iPhone 7. Even okay to mail that explosive Samsung Note 7. A single phone, with its own self contained battery is okay.

What's not okay is to mail a whole load of lithium batteries by air mail.

But fingernail polish? Another story.

[brooklynite]

17. An international shipment is subject to Customs inspection

[DK504]

2. I do wish he told them he had to call his bosses before anyone

could see secret information.

If they tried that shit, I'd be calling the ACLU before I went through the lines.

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Can't wait to see what happens to me when I get back from England in May.

You know, the UK now being an enemy of the Trump administration.

Disgraceful!

[Sunlei]

8. They won't bother you. Customs/border look for easy arrests/links to undocumented people.

They focus on Mexico, Central and South American people because they could have undocumented relatives in USA. Easy "catch" for border guards.

Don't text or chat anything naughty or discuss any undocumented family members. They're looking for that.

[klook]

11. Also, don't have an "Ay-rab" surname

And don't be brown. Those are rookie mistakes.

[Sunlei]

13. you're right :)

[alwaysinflux]

19. They ask your views on President Trump

At least they did ask some people that. To me that's crossing the line. And I'd be in trouble because I have anti-trump screenshot after screenshot in my photo album.

[kimbutgar]

4. I put a password on my iPad when I came back from Frankfurt Germany last week into SF

Had no problems with customs, sailed right though. I guess it depends on your point of entry some states might have more zealous customs people than others.

[aggiesal]

6. Did you look like a foreigner with brown skin? Just asking! n/t

[kimbutgar]

9. I am a light skinned black woman who could be mistaken for a lot of different races

While we were in Venice i had a neck scarf that I put on my head because it was cold and people looked differently at me. My hubby noticed it and told me to take it off as he said I could be mistaken for Muslim.

[NBachers]

10. Yes -my Chinese friend it has started wearing her scarf Muslim style in San Francisco.

I love the way it looks, but we could definitely get different looks and attention when she's walking around like that. She has developed some friendships with Muslim women, and they are showing her different artistic ways to arrange her scarf. I love the way it looks on her, and it certainly is an in-your-face gesture.

[moonscape]

14. I live on the CA coast - extremely liberal community - and have decided

when I have to use a chemo that takes my hair (former and current chemo does not cause hair loss) that I'll wear a hijab.

[NBachers]

16. It will change your appearance in a beautiful way.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. The new regulations require you to provide the password.

Copy phone/laptop data to two micro SD cards, mail them separately in letter envelopes. Wipe the laptop/phone of data except a bunch of innocuous stuff (parents' phone numbers, Beatles music, pics of a cheeseburger you ate, etc.).

[Egnever]

18. Not sure that would hold up if you wanted to force the issue.

They can't make you give them the passwords through anything but inconvenience. If you wanted to push I would bet you would win in the end.

Course who has time to deal with all that nonsense.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. Beyond inconvenience they can hold the device indefinitely in lieu of a password.

While they have it they can apply forensic methods even if the methods are destructive to the device. Then they get to say to you "tough luck".

Those methods can even read disk drives and SSDs that have been erased and retrieve files and messages that have been deleted.

[Egnever]

21. Sure at a cost of thousands of dollars

Good luck with that. Sure I would have to replace my phone but they wouldn't find a thing on it after going through all that.

Someone is going to tell them to screw themselves eventually and that will bring this nonsense to an end. I find it difficult to believe this would hold up if challenged in court.

[Sunlei]

7. hope you don't use 'the cloud' because they'll ask you for your main phone number to access that.

Really easy for them to see what devises/cell phone you link to your facebook, twitter, google accounts.

[moonseller66]

22. What if...

while abroad, you encrypted (or not) and emailed your pictures, documents, phone numbers, contacts, etc. and/or whatever you consider vital BEFORE you boarded the plane or ship home?
Wipe the phone or computer with a GOOD erase program, set a password and give it to them upon entry at customs?

I Donno. Just wondering!

[forgotmylogin]

23. Don't most people back up data online?

Before travelling, it's an easy matter to "restore to factory defaults" so you essentially have a new phone with no info or phone numbers, then restore it by connecting to wi-fi at your destination.

[ManiacJoe]

24. The factory reset is not something you want to do unnecessarily.

ICE is not going to give you time to do it after they ask for the phone.