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Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

nytimes.com

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Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#201

Post by fatdog »

What kind of mobile filesystem wipers and SIM wipers are available?

I use Signal for txts, and while I believe it does not store plaintext txts on the SIM card (haven't analyzed it), SSDs strew cleartext data all over the place. Border guards using a disk imager like EnCase or something similar would get significant fragments of browser and communications history.

Key thing is if you have an iPhone, don't use TouchID, or as I call it, "Apple Bad Touch," because they can just hold you down and run your finger over it.

It's best to travel with a burner. Maybe we need a cyanogenmod image that includes a "duress key" like TC had, and old RSA tokens, but if there is anything on your phone that could be used against people you know, don't take it across borders.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#202

Post by JumpCrisscross »

jliptzin wrote: post #21

Don't be fooled, Canadian border patrol proudly engages in this as well. I was recently driving across the border to Montreal on vacation when Canadian border agents, in addition to searching my car and personal belongings, demanded to see my cell phone and turn over the password. I simply asked why, since I didn't think I was doing anything suspicious, at which point the agent angrily responded "because I can and no…

Differential access to civil rights are a big part of why I gave up my driver's license.

Pulling over a driver and pointing a gun at them? Trivial. Pulling over a livery vehicle and searching the passenger? Complicated. Demanding someone in a car give you their phone's password? Trivial. Doing the same at the airport? My weekends filled for a month hosting fundraisers for PACs.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#203

Post by labster »

thatcat wrote: post #166
patmcc wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they'd ever make the argument that the content itself is dangerous - but it may give them more information about you, and let them decide that you are dangerous. At an extreme - if you had a document plan_to_takedown_flight_123ABC.pdf or diary_about_my_drug_smuggling_operation.txt, whether or not the data itself is a threat, it could indicate that you are. I mean, I think it's bullshit, the same way I t…

I would hate to be a fiction writer crossing boarders.

Most boarders are pirates, so I wouldn't want to cross them either.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#204

Post by Spoom »

edblarney wrote: post #73
jb1991 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some friends of mine were turned back at the border because they didn't make advance reservations for a hotel and therefore prove their trip really was legit.

That's sad. Border staff often have a set of rules they have to follow, a lot of it is to ward off attempts at illegal migration. Getting into America or Canada via that border is rather common. When I was at the Canadian border once, a woman from Jamaica, with a carload of luggage was denied entry essentially on the same basis - no proof of return travel, reservations etc. - they essentially suspected she was trying…

Per your last comment, you'd likely hit a three year or ten year bar. If they determine that you ever lied to them about anything, they can bar you from entering the country for life.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#205

Post by schoen »

emiliobumachar wrote: post #101
chinathrow wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even more depressing is the fact that many countries take the US as their idol and start also requiring all 10 finger prints at border crossing. It's an epidemic these days.

Here in Brazil we demand fingerprints only for Americans , as a reciprocity measure. A mix of revenge and incentivising change. It's controversial, cause it hurts tourism and business.

I don't think you're up to date on this. The Brazilian government began doing this in January 2004, but then discontinued the practice within a matter of weeks or months. I read several reports that it was initially ordered by a judge in Mato Grosso do Sul but that the government then successfully appealed against the judge's order.

I've visited Brazil with a U.S. passport at least once per year since 2003, most recently in December 2015, and have never been fingerprinted.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#206

Post by disposablezero »

labster wrote: post #203
thatcat wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would hate to be a fiction writer crossing boarders.

Most boarders are pirates, so I wouldn't want to cross them either.

Nawh, they're just a few days late on rent.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#207

Post by schoen »

edblarney wrote: post #73
jb1991 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some friends of mine were turned back at the border because they didn't make advance reservations for a hotel and therefore prove their trip really was legit.

That's sad. Border staff often have a set of rules they have to follow, a lot of it is to ward off attempts at illegal migration. Getting into America or Canada via that border is rather common. When I was at the Canadian border once, a woman from Jamaica, with a carload of luggage was denied entry essentially on the same basis - no proof of return travel, reservations etc. - they essentially suspected she was trying…

I didn't get a good feeling from your comment's contrast between "a woman from Jamaica" and "normal folks".

Surely being from Jamaica is a thing that normal folks do, if that's where they're from.

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#208

Post by riffic »

plg wrote: post #134

Q: do customs agents (in either USA or Canada) have the right to ask for social network passwords, even if you don't cross with a device? e.g. Facebook? Gmail? what about Dropbox? I suppose you could try "I don't have an account on that" but what if they know you do?

You would violate the terms of service for sharing your passwords with third-parties.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terms Section 4, number 8:

"You will not share your password (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account."

Gmail: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/terms/

"To protect your Google Account, keep your password confidential. You are responsible for the activity that happens on or through your Google Account. Try not to reuse your Google Account password on third-party applications."

Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/privacy#terms

"Please safeguard your password to the Services, make sure that others don't have access to it, and keep your account information current."

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#209

Post by spraak »

wheelerwj wrote: post #195
spraak wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you store your data so that you can retrieve it once you've crossed the border?

I don't. by this point I've got a relatively small personal digital footprint. Everything I need I can download again, or log back into. working out 2fa was a blessing and a curse. decoupling it from sms has been great but I do rely on a centralized service to store a theoretically encrypted backup. I'm lucky to have a pretty decent memory, so I everything else I just remember. I guess the part that is the most frust…

Thanks for sharing in detail. What is the service you use for backup?

Re: Canadian journalist's detention at US border raises press freedom alarms

#210

Post by [deleted] »

spraak wrote: post #192
wheelerwj wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The company I work for is located in Canada and I've been heavily involved in the Bitcoin ecosystem. So I've been back and forth fair amount and this mirrors my experience. I normally wipe my devices while crossing the border, phone and laptop but one time while I was doing a much shorter round trip, I decided not to wipe my phone. on my way into Canada, i was identified for enhanced screening at like 10pm, After wai…

Where do you store your data so that you can retrieve it once you've crossed the border?

[deleted]
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