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from the Quis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes? dept.
Homeland Security details new tools for extracting device data at US borders:
Travelers heading to the US have many reasons to be cautious about their devices when it comes to privacy. A report released Thursday from the Department of Homeland Security provides even more cause for concern about how much data border patrol agents can pull from your phones and computers.
In a Privacy Impact Assessment dated July 30, the DHS detailed its US Border Patrol Digital Forensics program, specifically for its development of tools to collect data from electronic devices. For years, DHS and border agents were allowed to search devices without a warrant, until a court found the practice unconstitutional in November 2019.
In 2018, the agency searched more than 33,000 devices, compared to 30,200 searches in 2017 and just 4,764 searches in 2015. Civil rights advocates have argued against this kind of surveillance, saying it violates people's privacy rights.
[...] The DHS said the privacy risks of using the tools are low because only trained forensics technicians will have access to the tools, and only data relevant to investigations will be extracted.
That assurance is in stark contrast from what lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation found, after a lawsuit revealed that agents had searched through travelers' devices without any restrictions, and often for unrelated reasons like enforcing bankruptcy laws and helping outside investigations.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Thursday August 13 2020, @04:01PM (3 children)
So if you for some reason want to bring your own devices with you why not just DHL (or some similar company) your equipment to where you'll be staying there instead of carrying it with you OR if you are a crook I'm sure some of your crook friends can supply you with a computer or a burner when you arrive OR if it's for business the company your work for will handle that issue. So who is this supposed to stop? Stupid criminals? Government sanctioned corporate espionage?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 13 2020, @04:19PM
shipping your stuff also means less to carry, lose, break, theft, not having to waste time with checked baggage.. I know people who even ship their clothes over, and then dont bother shipping them back. "burner clothes" so to speak.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 13 2020, @08:56PM
Why not DHL? Because that offers a TLA the ability to intercept your phone and try to do whatever they want to with it for as long as they want to try. Better hope it's as secure as you think it is, then. Not to mention, as elsewhere, it singles you out as someone crossing without technology. If that doesn't meet their profile for you then you've just given them reason to take notice of you.
Also remember that not everybody is Dr. No. (Who also lost, come to think of it...) But the average mule/smuggler/etc.... if they were really smart or could afford multiple phones or computers would they be doing what they're doing?
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Friday August 14 2020, @05:49AM
Only kind that get caught.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."