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CNN and a a lot of other outlets are reporting that JPL engineer Sidd Bikkannavar, an American-born citizen, was detained at the border when returning from racing solar powered cars overseas.
The border guards demanded he turn over his government-issued NASA phone and its PIN and held him in their detention area.
Bikkannavar also was interviewed by The Verge:
"It was not that they were concerned with me bringing something dangerous in, because they didn't even touch the bags. They had no way of knowing I could have had something in there," he says. "You can say, 'Okay well maybe it's about making sure I'm not a dangerous person,' but they have all the information to verify that."
Bikkannavar says he's still unsure why he was singled out for the electronic search. He says he understands that his name is foreign — its roots go back to southern India. He didn't think it would be a trigger for extra scrutiny, he says. "Sometimes I get stopped and searched, but never anything like this. Maybe you could say it was one huge coincidence that this thing happens right at the travel ban."
Land of the free? Home of the brave?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by richtopia on Wednesday February 15 2017, @06:08AM
This is the first time I've heard of a border being an issue, but when visiting another company corporate security may demand you unlock your mobile/laptop for inspection upon leaving. As this is an IP issue, our policy is to surrender the encrypted device and we will recover your work from backups.
However even if you are willing to surrender the device in question, customs can make your live very miserable, and would that occur if you don't play ball with unlocking your device?
(Score: 2) by coolgopher on Wednesday February 15 2017, @06:10AM
I'd like to introduce you to your new friend, Mr Rubber Hose...
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Wednesday February 15 2017, @06:49AM
I never visited a repressive regime which would demand me to unlock my laptop or phone (or maybe I just wasn't aware and got lucky), but I know some colleagues who went to the US.
Some would send the key of sensitive partitions to a colleague in advance, delete their own copy, and are therefore incapable to unlock the laptop on demand.
My phone will wipe everything when I mis-type the security code 10 times...
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 2) by rob_on_earth on Wednesday February 15 2017, @08:51AM
The problem with the "I cannot unlock my device" defence is they WILL take offence and make your life unpleasant. The correct solution is having an unlock key that ONLY unlocks a benign instance of the phone. But I am not sure how that would work with the hardware copying device that they seem to be applying to any unlocked device they get their hands on.
(Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Wednesday February 15 2017, @08:32AM
What about my unpublished manuscripts stored on my encrypted device? Am I just supposed to turn them over to some corporate drone who suspects I snooped their network?
If you are that worried about it, don't let the phone enter the premises.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Pslytely Psycho on Wednesday February 15 2017, @08:57AM
Why do they have to suspect you of anything?
Today, just existing and having an encrypted device is enough, after all you wouldn't encrypt anything legal you terrorist you.
Hell, having a device is enough, if you balk at them for wanting to inspect it you must be hiding something.
Everyone is a subversive. Even white Christian males might just be sneaky liberals in disguise trying to undermine America.
A good tan is enough to warrant 'special consideration.'
But hey, don't worry, your manuscripts will get published.
Unfortunately, not under your name....
The terrorists are winning. Our own shadows are now suspect
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Wednesday February 15 2017, @12:52PM
> [...] just existing and having an encrypted device is enough [...]
The contents of an encrypted area, ideally, look just like random data. But any data could be random. So no matter what the device contains, we can't be sure it isn't encrypted.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Wednesday February 15 2017, @05:48PM
If your device does not even boot without unscrambling the "random data", that can be a strong clue.
I suppose you can argue that your phone just randomly started asking for a passphrase on boot, and you have not fixed it yet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 15 2017, @07:52PM
I think what you're hinting at is while, "corporate security may demand you unlock your mobile/laptop for inspection upon leaving," they cannot actually *make* you unlock said device. They cannot keep said device either, actually. Your response might be, "Call a cop and let's see if you can hold me here or steal my laptop from me, OK?" if you're willing to burn your bridges with said company. If cops actually do show up, the company can present all the NDAs and pre-inspection authorizations but would tell security, "This is her laptop, she is free to go with it unlocked or otherwise, and your requirements are a civil and not criminal matter." And a corporation that says, "Oh, we'll just take this from you then..." will surrender it once person calls police and police informs security that this would be prosecutable theft, if any security department were stupid enough to try that. At least in states where security officers are always private citizens and never sworn officers. The corporation relies on you [or your company] needing the other corporation's good will to make any inspections stick.
Or they can have rules like at one place I interviewed at: No cameras, no cell phones, no laptops not owned by the company allowed on the premises. (They also didn't really have out-of-company visitors there.) It was an age before portable hard drives and USB sticks, but absolutely no 3.5 disks allowed offsite - if you needed to take data home, you had a company issued laptop. All cell phones were dumb then, too, but still not allowed. And because the only laptops allowed on premise carried the company property stickers (checked for on entrance and exit,) the machines were company property and searchable at any time without cause.
The government, on the other hand, has the force of law to say, "You ain't gonna unlock it? Then you ain't crossing the border. And you ain't leaving the border checkpoint until you do." Fair, especially to a citizen? Hell, no. It should be, "No warrant, no proximate suspicion of crime, no way." But it isn't. And we are so scared of teh terrorists and teh copyrights violatorz and teh haxxors that we let that bullshit stand.
Of course, it may just *just* be that as a JPL employee he has a security clearance. And it may just *just* be that someone in the FBI or other TLO with jurisdiction has a reason they wanted that engineer stopped and searched. Which might not have anything to do with a weird last name and everything about a JPL engineer doing overseas travel.