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Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

theguardian.com

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Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#181

Post by mikeash »

John_KZ wrote: post #180
tedunangst wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So that's what's happening? The TSA takes your phone, teleports it to cellebrite who unlock and clone it in ten minutes, then they teleport it back?

Can you think of a better location to place a phone's unlocking and cloning machine than the TSA's examination office? Do they really need to teleport the phone?

It's unlikely to be a push-button machine. It's more likely to be a complicated procedure involving desoldering chips and placing components in specialized harnesses, which would be difficult to replicate at an airport.

Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#182

Post by jstarfish »

cryoshon wrote: post #65

idea: scrub all data and accounts from your electronics before flying. leave your phone unlocked, but primed with a goatse booby trap so that the agents get an unpleasant surprise that's totally legal and comes with total deniability -- hey, you just loved goatse so that's why it's on your phone and laptop. if the agent is offended, perhaps they should have minded their own fucking business.

> if the agent is offended, perhaps they should have minded their own fucking business.

Exposing government agents to obscene or indecent content is not going to improve the outlook of your day.

Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#183

Post by ac29 »

lisper wrote: post #165
dharmab wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TSA makes you empty your pockets when going through security.

Hm, good point. I forgot about that because I have pre-check. So maybe one of these instead: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-microSDXC-Adapter-MB-MC256GA-...

Even pocket lint will show up on the Backscatter machines in use in US airports. I know, I've been pulled aside for it.

Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#184

Post by oldandtired »

mikeash wrote: post #137
oldandtired wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is theatre if it is applied randomly. It is not if all devices are tested equally. The same goes for testing of people. Unless all are tested, random checks are just about useless, since there will be a pattern to the selection of people for "random" testing.

If the screening is being rendered ineffective by bad profiling, then it’s the profiling that’s theater, not the screening being profiled for.

If you are relying on "profiling" as a precursor to screening then you have made all of it theatre. You either screen everyone or screen no-one. To "randomly" choose someone to screen by the use of "profiling" makes nobody "safe", you may as well not screen anyone.

Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#185

Post by oldandtired »

justinjlynn wrote: post #140
oldandtired wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't you mean any area within 100 miles of the borders? That means some states are completely within this region and are all subject to border searches.

I would love to see the government attempt to defend such a stance in front of the supreme court. I have a sneaking suspicion there'd be a major judicial shitfit on that. Chief Justice would probably be all: "LOL, you did wut? ಠ_ಠ"

The problem is that they don't have to (yet). They do it now and get away with it and currently with impunity. If I recall correctly, there is a case in Texas about the matter, but that is the only one I know of at the moment.

Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#186

Post by jstarfish »

fenwick67 wrote: post #29
ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #5

I am TOTALLY ok with TSA reading my last text messages before I go on a flight. Those last few texts someone sends before committing a terrorist action, could send an extremely strong signal to authorities and possibly prevent a disaster. If the extra security results in a strange TSA agent getting to enjoy some surprise dick pics, well that's the price of freedom Jerry.

Do you really think random terrorists are dumb enough to send text messages like "so how's your terrorist attack going?" or "don't forget the bomb!"?

Absolutely.

Perhaps not in those terms, but amateur OPSEC failures have sunk more than one criminal enterprise.

Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#187

Post by mikeash »

oldandtired wrote: post #184
mikeash wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the screening is being rendered ineffective by bad profiling, then it’s the profiling that’s theater, not the screening being profiled for.

If you are relying on "profiling" as a precursor to screening then you have made all of it theatre. You either screen everyone or screen no-one. To "randomly" choose someone to screen by the use of "profiling" makes nobody "safe", you may as well not screen anyone.

Sure. But it can be done right (screening everyone, or using actual randomness), and if it’s not, that’s a problem with the profiling, not with the actual screening of actual potential bomb casings.

Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#188

Post by thisacctforreal »

saagarjha wrote: post #145
mylons wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

potentially naive question, but doesn't apple encrypt devices? and will my iphone X be good if i refuse to open it for law enforcement?

Sure, if you remember to disable Face ID before going through the checkpoint. Good luck getting on the plane after refusing to unlock it with a passcode, though.

You can instruct the Secure Enclave to forget your passcode by rapidly pressing the power button 5 times. This inherently disables Face ID and Touch ID.

Just make sure you have Auto Call off in Settings > Emergency SOS, or it'll automatically dial 911.

Also, you can have a digit pin code longer than 6 digits by using a passphrase with only digits.

Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#189

Post by jonathanyc »

John_KZ wrote: post #178
ProAm wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Im not sure that matters. They may make it a condition of travel; you do not have to let the TSA search your phone, but you will not be allowed to proceed into the airport without doing so. That is what all the TSA searches have appeared like to me. Just a denial of service for maintaining a level of privacy.

This kind of argument is starting to piss me off. "You can express your freedom of speech, but not in this public park, because it's privately owned" "You can state your opinions, but not on this website, because dispite being a major communications hub on the internet, and despite advertising ourselves as a place of free expression, we actively derank, ban or erase any opinion we dislike" "You can decline the EULA,…

Yeah. We accept that “if you don’t like it, you should just move” is a bad excuse for bad laws. But people still think they are so urbane and clever when they say “oh, if you don’t like (service X), just don’t use it.”

Re: Questions for TSA after reports of laptop and phone searches on domestic flights

#190

Post by syshum »

nl wrote: post #73
syshum wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>They take the devices away for some period, but if they’re securely locked, TSA won’t be able to get anything from them. You have no way of knowing that, or if they are doing anything to the hardware, cloning the SIM, adding tracking, or simply cloning the flash for possible evaluation later Further it should be considered unconstitutional for them to even take it for 1 second. > If it’s some fancy explosives sniff…

Al-Shabaab used a laptop bomb on a plane out of Somalia after successfully getting it through X-ray machines. It blew a hole in the plane, but they managed to land it successfully. Swabbing laptops for explosives doesn’t sound like security theatre to me. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daallo_Airlines_Flight_159

Something being a valid attack vector does not make their security process and procedure valid, effective nor anything other than Theater to make people feel safe.

Countless of time they have failed Red Team testing, TSA is useless if your goal is actual security, they are pretty good if you want to shift people in to accepting more and more intrusive violation of their rights...

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