The inspection of smartphones and laptops at airports is becoming a norm in many countries. Some view it as a necessity, while others see it as an invasion of privacy. We discuss the situation, recent changes in this area, and explain how to navigate these new circumstances.
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The issue of privacy at the border
In 2017 alone, US customs authorities conducted 30,000 device searches, which is 58% more than the year before. In 2018, this figure increased further, while legislative regulation is trending toward granting broader powers for inspections. Recently, US customs officers were given the right to read personal messages and even transmit this information to border security servers — all without a warrant.
Ensuring the security of personal data from third-party access in this case is not possible. Just earlier this month, , that the customs database was hacked. The attackers stole photographs and passport numbers from tens of thousands of travelers.
At the end of May, it also became known about new requirements for those applying for a US visa. Applicants will have to about their social media accounts and personal phone numbers from the last five years. All information will be verified by intelligence agencies. The visa situation in one of the articles on Habr.
Electronic devices are checked not only at the US border. In China, customs officers correspondence, photographs, videos, and documents of those entering the country to determine the purpose of their visit. A similar situation in Canada — airport staff review posts on social media, call logs, and browsing histories.
Pros and cons
Any state views the border as a source of increased danger. Customs officers and airline representatives argue that device searches are carried out for security reasons and "help to ensure compliance with the laws of the countries." At the same time, experts note that the situation is not as dire as portrayed. Every year, the US border
is crossed 400 million people. However, only a few tens of thousands of gadget inspections are conducted in a year, which is "not that many."
There is an opinion that such an approach violates people's right to privacy. Two years ago, ten U.S. citizens (among them ) even a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Customs. In their statement, they noted that inspections of electronic devices at the border contradict the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution.
Major companies whose employees have to travel for business also actively oppose "gadget searches." They emphasize that such practices can lead to the compromise of confidential organizational data, as people increasingly use personal laptops and smartphones for work. Basecamp even developed , which all company employees must follow when traveling abroad. It outlines the methods and tools to be used to protect information.
"I am against any restriction of freedoms, and the right to privacy is a fundamental right of every person. The compromise of commercial data that ends up on employees' personal smartphones is a serious issue that is becoming increasingly relevant, as more employees use messengers for work-related communication. Therefore, all companies need to pay attention to issues related to corporate data security.
At 1cloud, we are developing cybersecurity policies for employees when using personal devices — we will implement and test them soon," comments Sergey Belkin, head of development .
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Politicians are also calling for initiatives to limit the powers of customs officers. Several American senators have proposed a bill that would prohibit the inspection of gadgets at the border without compelling reasons. Such calls for a review of legislation in Canadian society.
I believe that if there was genuine interest, the security services could have previously accessed the necessary information by various means, including without the user's knowledge. These new regulations merely simplify the procedure and establish clearer rules that citizens should consider when planning certain activities. If I were involved in something that could attract the attention of law enforcement in any country, my phone and laptop would not even be among the top ten devices where I would choose to store such information. The same goes for storing data in any public cloud services, regardless of their jurisdiction,” says Alexey. .
Conclusions
Use strong passwords for each service or application and log out of all accounts before crossing the state border. It's also wise to password-protect the operating system itself. This will be helpful even if the device is stolen.
Create backups of your data and erase all sensitive information from disks using specialized utilities. You can use an open-source tool. . It wipes documents, cleans the browser, and removes file previews.
Upload data to the cloud; they will be much safer there. For example, in the USA, border officials may check saved files on the device, but to inspect data in the cloud.
In my opinion, the thing [searching gadgets at the border] is completely useless. Those who have something to hide will store data, for example, on a server they can access with their password through a browser. Search the gadget—it simply won’t contain anything special.
And it’s just impossible to even guess that this server exists at all. Personally, I take these things calmly and don't prepare in any special way. What really irritates me is the tradition at some airports of requiring you to take out your laptop from the bag,” comments Timofey Shikolenko, founder of the Online University "».
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Source: habr.com
