Laptop Security News.

[stawes]

I read in the mail on Sunday that american security people are soon going to confiscate many laptops even if there is no suspicions of law breaking.
Personally I think it is ridiculous.
Business Workers that go to New york and places will be really annoyed.

[stawes]

I also think Normal Travelers like us will be annoyed as well.

[paulh]

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A key US national security agency on Friday defended the right of border officials to seize laptops from travelers even if they are not suspected of criminal activity, as lawmakers and rights activists slammed the policy as unconstitutional and alarming.

"Since the founding of the republic, we have had broad authority to conduct searches at the border to prevent the entrance into this country of dangerous persons and goods," Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Amy Kudwa told AFP.

"In the 21st century, the most dangerous contraband is most often contained in electronic media, not on paper. The age of micro-fiches and paper files is long over," she said.

The DHS last month made public policy documents, one of which authorizes border officials to "detain documents and electronic devices, for a reasonable period of time to perform a thorough border search ... on-site or at an off-site location."

"In the course of a border search, and absent individualized suspicion, officers can review and analyze the information transported by any individual attempting to enter, reenter, depart, pass through, or reside in the United States," said the document, which is available online.

Tim Sparapani, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called such seizures unconstitutional.

"It's a seizure without developing probable cause that a crime has been or is being committed. The Customs and Border Protection Division of the DHS is trying to turn the US border into a constitution-free zone," he said.

Senator Russ Feingold, who earlier this year chaired a congressional hearing into the DHS's practice of searching and sometimes confiscating electronic equipment, said the searches were "alarming" and an invasion of privacy.

"I am more convinced than ever that legislation is needed in order to protect law-abiding Americans from this gross violation of their privacy. I intend to introduce such legislation soon," Feingold said in a statement.

But Kudwa argued that passing a law to regulate border searches "would have a very dangerous effect on the split-second assessment that law enforcement officers need to make at the border."

"If they needed to get a court order to search something ... it would have a very dangerous and chilling effect on our ability to screen for dangerous people and effects."

The ACLU's Sparapani also suggested that seizing laptops left border officials a step behind terrorists.

"Any smart terrorist won't bother putting dangerous images or documents on their computer or cellphone or Blackberry or digital camera. Rather they'll put them on a remote server and access them when they have entered the US," he said.

It also smacked of discrimination, he added.

"Almost all business travelers possess a Blackberry, a zip-drive, or a mobile phone, so how is it exactly that they are selecting the individuals whose devices are searched and seized?" he asked.

"That is the unknown question and it smacks of discrimination."

Last month, the ACLU accused the DHS of endangering "US citizens' privacy and civil liberties without increasing security" through its policies and programs, including a terrorist watchlist which the rights group claims has grown to more than one million names.

The ACLU also accused US border agents of unfairly targeting US citizens of Asian or Arab origin and of racially profiling Latino residents of the United States at immigration checkpoints.


To me they have the right to do it,weather its right or wrong not up to me,its not just travlers into the usa,but usa citizens as well
Paulh

[disneyholic family]

that's very strange... :confused3

[stawes]

When I go to Florida and If they take my Laptop I will just not be able to contain myself.

[paulh]

also stems from child pornogarphy they found on a laptops as well
If you have nothing to hide youll get it back,if your a suspect they will take it from you
Paulh

[stawes]

Luckily I have nothing like that in fact i have nothing Illegal on my laptop.
So do you think when we get mco They take spend hours looking at it then finally decide to weather give back or not give back.

[paulh]

Luckily I have nothing like that in fact i have nothing Illegal on my laptop.
.

why worry then if they take it they take it,dont know how long for
Paulh

[stawes]

why worry then if they take it they take it,dont know how long for
Paulh
Mu current plans see my flight arriving at 7.00 o'clock Eastern Time so about 12.00 UK time so l will be really tired at that long and don't want to wait around for hours
Pehapes when I go i will empty my laptop so only my wdw files exist. .

[anthony2k7]

why worry then if they take it they take it,dont know how long for
Paulh

i think its more the inconvenience that people may get upset about. If they keep you waiting at the airport for hours then its missed holiday time, and if they keep it longer than that then I guess they expect you to go away and make another trip back to collect it? either way its really not a great way to start a holiday.

if they keep treating visitors like this i think the risk of damage they'll do to tourist industry may be more damaging to america than anything else they manage to prevent.

[stawes]

i think its more the inconvenience that people may get upset about. If they keep you waiting at the airport for hours then its missed holiday time, and if they keep it longer than that then I guess they expect you to go away and make another trip back to collect it? either way its really not a great way to start a holiday.
And as we are not Renting a car it will cost $70 there and back in a cab which will take out money form our spending money

[Claire L]

I am sure they have been able to do this for a while and it won't be every device just a few. Bit like coming through UK customs they usually know who/what they are looking for.

Claire ;)

[paulh]

And as we are not Renting a car it will cost $70 there and back in a cab which will take out money form our spending money

wouldent worry to much,as i dont think its evry laptop or pda there taking.
Oh my brouther works in computer forensics and even if you wipe things off,he says there always there as a computer never likes to forget
Paulh

[stoneyloon]

What a complete waste of time!:sad2:

I'm sure if someone wants to take in anything "dodgy" they could hide a usb stick quite easily. I got an email the other day offering me a 8gb one for a tenner!

I'm sure if anyone wants to smuggle in some nuclear secrets, they'll be a bit smarter than that!:rotfl:

[CanadianGuy]

The Customs and Border Protection Division of the DHS is trying to turn the US border into a constitution-free zone,
Someone needs to let the ACLU know... It already is.. since visitors from foreign countries aren't US citizens governed under said document... and this broad right of search and seizure has existed and been exercised as long as I've been alive at ground crossings such as the one adjacent to where I grew up - Houlton, Maine <-> Woodstock, New Brunswick.

The fact that this search and seizure is now extending to digital devices and storage media from analog media (undeveloped film for example which was always subject to seizure if they felt like it)...while it may be new, shouldn't really be alarming.

I'd like to know where the ACLU was when this was happening for the last 39 years.

[wicket2005]

It is just exercising the right to be able to do it which I don't think will be necessarily all of the time. Newspapers often have a way of reporting things in a strange way that isn't necessarily totally right. Time and time again my Dad will say have you read this and then because I know the facts about what he is on about I don't panic but sometimes in general things can be blown out of all proportion.

I took a laptop, plus IPod Touch, DS Lite, PSP, 2 Cameras from Manchester to Orlando and back in July no problem whatsoever. I had expected to have to prove it was a laptop but it was xrayed in my bag along with everything else and no one bothered. It is immaterial anyway because you can access the internet anywhere whether by using your own laptop or using an internet cafe or purchasing a laptop over there. Info can be pushed to an online storage area so it would be extremely hard to police.

What is happening is the publicity, this spreads the word to discourage people without being able to enforce it. Its the same with the visa waiver scheme. The actual declaration form stipulates certain points to declare whereas the embassy say practically everything is included. Thereby, giving them more information about individuals which isn't necessarily what they are after.

Basically I wouldn't worry about it.