Feature Request: set auto-wipe on your phone that cleans it unless you enter your cancellation code within the next x hours.
I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
131–140 of 209 posts
Re: I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
#132I suggest mentioning in the title that it concerns the US-border, I travelled across a lot of international borders, that didn't care. Only some international borders are a problem, one of these, the US one.
I know of companies that do not allow employees to bring work devices into China. That's probably a somewhat different issue of industrial espionage, though.
Re: I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
#133Once customs and border patrol is holding you is there any way to back out? Could you say something like "Uh... I think I'm just not going to enter right now."? (then back up your data, ship the computer device with an insurance policy, and give the border crossing another shot)
Certainly, 6 months later, when you are cleared for a hearing after getting deported to who knows where. Don't try shenanigans at the border.
OK, fair enough. Maybe just plan to not have your device like the article says.
Re: I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
#134The factory reset seems more practical to me than leaving your phone at home.
When you are rooted you can even make an image before and put it back later I guess.
Re: I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Option 1: "No, I left my phone at home." Option 2: If you're at the US border and a US citizen, "Sir, I'm an American citizen and just want want to get home" -- citizens can't be blocked from re-entering at the border.
re: Option 2 Define "blocked". Because Sidd Bikkannavar's recent experience tells a different story[0]. "The document given to Bikkannavar listed a series of consequences for failure to offer information that would allow CBP to copy the contents of the device. “I didn’t really want to explore all those consequences,” he says. “It mentioned detention and seizure.”" [0] - http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/12/14583124/nasa…
Tech bro citizens need to intentionally travel in order to step up and volunteer to say "No" to all entreaties for their data. They have money for lawyers, and PTO for time.
Re: I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
#136Once customs and border patrol is holding you is there any way to back out? Could you say something like "Uh... I think I'm just not going to enter right now."? (then back up your data, ship the computer device with an insurance policy, and give the border crossing another shot)
(IANAL) If you're a US citizen, indefinite detainment without cause is unconstitutional: they must release you eventually; you also (provided you have your passport/can prove citizenship) have a right to enter your country. Further, if they try to detain you indefinitely illegally, you have the right to a writ of habeas corpus — a legal challenge that your detainment or jailing is illegal (your jailor must go before the court and show cause that he/she has the right to hold you). (Though, if you are in this position, you may need someone to file it on your behalf.) Again, I'm only asserting this in the specific situation of a US citizen attempting to enter the US.
My understanding is that they are permitted to search you, for the narrow purpose of border security. (I.e., the search here is not a violation of fourth amendment rights.) But I don't see how they can force you to divulge your password. You might not get the phone back, though, and they'd likely make your life very difficult; it's probably better to not mess around with them, and plan ahead. Specifically, I don't think leaving and trying again is ever an option, and wouldn't look good to the officer.
Re: I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
Honest question: How is that a felony? I have multiple profiles on my home machine. Does that make me a felon?
If you are asked to produce the contents of your property and provide access to a subset of that property, that will be interpreted as either hindering official action or lying to a federal agent. Lying to a federal agent is a felony. From the customs agent and legal point of view, there is no distinction between hiding a secret compartment in your luggage and a device.
I'm not implying that people should behave in any particular way when asked to provide information to LEOs, only that phones should behave in a certain way when provided with a password. This might provide a level of security to a journalist who has been abducted, for example.
Re: I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
#138This might have been suggested before, but I think it's novel enough to repeat: You should be able to create two passwords for all devices. One, your password, would allow you to use the device normally, the other, your lastword, would start a silent erasure of the device. The device could even present a fake successful authentication, like dumping you to some fake desktop, while it erases your data. While in this ca…
And then you get prosecuted for destruction of evidence, obstruction of justice and whatever else they can come up with. As said in other threads, the solution is not technology.
This assumes that law enforcement actually knows you will have evidence.
If the technology could remove everything that would be incriminating and leave benign data you would just be another non-techie traveler.
Re: I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
#139Fun fact - the "border zone" in which your 4th amendment rights are suspended and you are subject to search, is 100 miles wide and overlaps where the majority of Americans live and work https://www.aclu.org/other/constitution-100-mile-border-zone
Wow, I thought that only extended OUTSIDE the border, not INSIDE as well!
What? That doesn't make any sense. Constitutional rights don't apply anywhere outside the border as far as I know. In this context, the area can only extend inside. Or do I misunderstand your comment?
Re: I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
At least on an iPhone, erased is erased. On android some versions use full disk encryption but many do not, it's a guess.
It's not a "guess". The last Android release that lacked support for block-device-level encryption was KitKat, which shipped in 2013. Any device being advertised with the "Android" trademark (to be fair: AOSP-based clone OSes like Amazon's have been slower to evolve) over the last two years has that support. Please don't hijack an important security discussion to engage in meaningless platform flamage. Users with And…
Android still lacks behind in regards of disk encryption. See this in-depth article that was posted on HN a while ago:
https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2016/11/24/android-...
Also the parent post was talking about usage, not availability of encryption. So while recent Android versions most certainly offer encryption, it might not be enabled. iOS encrypted by default, as it should be.