Israel airport security stole my laptop

Post by threatofrain » Mon, Jan 28, 2019, 6:53 PM UTC

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #52

boltzmannbrain wrote: post #2

Curbside security guard asked a couple basic questions ("How long were you in Israel? Where are you traveling to?"). The guard at the first security gate inside asked ~20 questions (4-8 is normal). I think answering that I'm a SW engineer to "What do you do for a living?" made her suspicious. I was then directed to a side security area where they searched my bags and discovered my laptop. A few guards then escorted m…

What you experienced is not rare at all for travel through Israel. Answering that you're a SW engineer is not suspicious, it's how you answer that they're trained to look at. The questions are basically irrelevant. You and your equipment got flagged. Once when I was boarding a plane to fly into TLV from Athens, I got about 200 questions in the space of 5 minutes, from 3 different people. When I mentioned who I used t…

Post by desireco42 » Mon, Jan 28, 2019, 7:15 PM UTC

boltzmannbrain wrote: post #61

desireco42 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am sorry for what happened to you. I really am. I heard before that Israeli security can be scary if they sense you went to either Palestinian areas or some of their flags get triggered. But no excuse for them to do what they do. I hope you raising this issue help you get your laptop back. I personally worry that they might take my laptop from me and install some spyware, so I try not to carry one, or if I do, trav…

Thank you. It was an unfortunate learning lesson. Even if I do get my laptop back it won't be usable -- I have to assume they've gone through it and tampered somehow.

Post by isostatic » Mon, Jan 28, 2019, 7:26 PM UTC

chrismeller wrote: post #34

isostatic wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're taken away for too long, you may miss your flight. I'd hope that the airline would put you on the next one, despite them not having to do so.

What does that have to do with this situation?

Post by isostatic » Mon, Jan 28, 2019, 7:53 PM UTC

ilsec_throw wrote: post #39

boltzmannbrain wrote: post #2

Curbside security guard asked a couple basic questions ("How long were you in Israel? Where are you traveling to?"). The guard at the first security gate inside asked ~20 questions (4-8 is normal). I think answering that I'm a SW engineer to "What do you do for a living?" made her suspicious. I was then directed to a side security area where they searched my bags and discovered my laptop. A few guards then escorted m…

What is your goal in this publicity? On the surface, it seems like yet another dispute with unreasonable customer service and you are using the shame tactic to get your way. This is airport security in Israel. It's not security theater. It's the real deal. There is something in this story that is missing. You may not know what it is, but those people are really good at their jobs. Was that really your laptop? Were al…

Post by Zak » Mon, Jan 28, 2019, 8:20 PM UTC

walrus01 wrote: post #79

Zak wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Breaking into a hotel room and installing a rootkit on a laptop does not require anywhere near that level of sophistication. In many cases, obtaining a hotel room key requires only entry-level social engineering. How do I know? I've received keys for my own hotel rooms from the front desk with essentially no verification. Adding a rootkit to a laptop depends on how well-secured it is, but that's often little more eff…

Breaking into a hotel room, and breaking into a hotel room without sufficient surveillance resources are two different things... Just off the top of my head, I can think of a few concerns. You'd need a rotating team of at least three persons to verify that the subject has left the hotel room, and isn't going somewhere for a very short time such as to the hotel laundry room, to a lobby snack bar, or such. You don't wa…