Kind of related: How Face ID could be a game-changer for aggressive US border agents https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18113431
New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
571–580 of 647 posts
Re: New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
#572This is an important issue cryptographers and security minded people often overlook: the strongest cryptography is irrelevant if it opens you to such social harassment. What we need is practical cryptography. I have found practical success by booting from an encrypted Linux partition that has absolutely nothing relevant on it, with a weak password I can always enter when requested by big guys with guns. Unbeknown to…
As technically exciting as this is, i would probably just bring a burner laptop, installed with a a default Debian install on a properly initialized LUKS partition, and a weak password, and a USB drive with a Debian install.
Once inside customs, i'd verify the SHA1 sum of the USB drive image vs. the one on the Debian site, and reinstall the machine, setup a VPN back home, and pull the data i need onto the machine.
Repeat the "dummy" install when leaving the country.
Re: New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
#573Earlier quoted context omitted.
I store information on my phone like my private thoughts, because I know that it’s an encrypted, secured device I always have with me. I wouldn’t store that information on paper — the best analogy is that it’s a backup of parts of my brain. When you go through customs, they can’t just search your brain. They can search your possessions, but they can’t mind dump you. That’s the critical distinction. It’s not my proper…
...it's not your brain, it's a fancy electronic notebook.
Re: New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
#574Earlier quoted context omitted.
I drove from Detroit to Toronto via Windsor, and was subjected to a vehicle search and questioning. I pulled up my hotel reservation at the agents' request, and he snatched my phone out of my hands and started going through my emails. He couldn't wrap his head around why anyone would want to take a roadtrip to toronto for an extended weekend, other than to run drugs. I've also been interrogated when flying into Canad…
I'm Canadian. I get searched all the time by both sides. Canadian side has been worse for me, so far. I really like going to other countries, their customs tend to be reasonable. coming back home is always a nerve racking experience. I haven't been asked for my phone yet, but have been asked for my camera. I'm being drawn more and more to paying for online storage/sync solutions and clearing my phone and laptop befor…
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Re: New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
#575Earlier quoted context omitted.
The key difference between searching someones suitcase and their phone is that people don't generally carry their medical and financial records in paper form when they travel.
Medical and financial records have always been legitimate things to search by customs. You may in fact be denied entry if you don't have them in paper form, in some cases.
To some extent yes - I have experienced the financial side of this - but those are generally just statements to prove you have enough money to stay in the country until you leave. Just the same with medical records stating that you don't have an infectious disease.
It doesn't include your entire history of financial transactions and investments, nor does it include a history of all operations and procedures that you had done.
Re: New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
#576Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is 100% the right solution, and there's a pretty easy way to accomplish this, with iPhones at least: Back up to iCloud Wipe your phone Cross the border Restore from iCloud And yes, this may fail visiting China, because who knows what the Great Firewall will block.
Do note that restoring your phone can be a massive pain, even on a fast network it took me a couple of hours to fully restore it. There's also certain things you'll need to set up again; Apple Pay, mail passwords, ... So it's really not as simple as you make it out to be.
I wish I could
- backup essentials to iCloud
- and backup pretty much everything (whatever I want) to iTunes so that I could do a full restore from a local backup.
Re: New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
#577Earlier quoted context omitted.
I drove from Detroit to Toronto via Windsor, and was subjected to a vehicle search and questioning. I pulled up my hotel reservation at the agents' request, and he snatched my phone out of my hands and started going through my emails. He couldn't wrap his head around why anyone would want to take a roadtrip to toronto for an extended weekend, other than to run drugs. I've also been interrogated when flying into Canad…
> he snatched my phone out of my hands and started going through my emails Is it not illegal - the "snatching" part?
It doesn't matter whether or not it is. While you are there they are your gods and after you leave they're untouchable. If the border security is rude or downright abusive your only recourse is just not going to the country in question.
Re: New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
#578I really want phone makers to allow me to unlock into separate enclaves on my phone. I.e. If I use 1234 as my unlock pin, it goes to my normal phone. If I use 5678 instead, it unlocks to a separate user account with its own notifications, pictures, apps, etc., similar to a truecrypt hidden partition.
Xiaomi does this with MIUI's Second Space feature. Different pins or different fingerprints take you to their intended space of the phone
If you enable it, there's that "switch to your second space" permanent alert you can't hide or dismiss.
Re: New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
#579It's not about security. If it were, you wouldn't be able to bypass it with a $5k payment.
You don't bypass it. Paying $5k means you also lose your phone:
> If people refused to comply, they could be fined up to $5000 and their device would be seized and forensically searched.
Re: New Zealand travellers refusing digital search now face $5k Customs fine
#580Probably a naive question: The whole point of this kind of search is to find something. But what is that "something"? What do they expect to find? Anyone even remotely serious of doing something bad is not going to have it on their phone just like that. What do they even expect to find?