More on Laptop Seizures
Or maybe that should read “moronic” laptop seizures. I saw these two articles over the weekend. Actually one article, reported by two sites – and on some other blogs too.
Laptop Seizures Anger Denver Muslims, and the same article from Religion News Blog.
Elahi was confronted with what many local Muslims and residents of Arab descent say are increased searches and seizures of laptops at airports and border crossings without warrant or warning.
The practice has been affirmed by courts, federal officials say, but civil rights leaders say procedures should be established so travelers have a reasonable notice of what to expect and of what happens to their computers when they are seized.
Border security officials say they have not ramped up the practice, but they are well within their rights to seize laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices before travelers — even citizens — enter the country.
Remember folks – its NOT a myth: When entering or returning to the great United States, even as a citizen, our customs and homeland security folks have the right to search any and all of your electronic media.
That’s why I recommend always keeping your content, (photos, files, documents, etc.) on personal file sharing sites, FTP sites, or on an SD card tucked safely in your pocket – leaving your computer as nothing more than an empty shell. You should be doing that anyway in case your hard drive crashes right?
One workaround I’ve learned, netted from personal experience: Carrying gay German magazines, even a harmless to-do guide with pages full of hunky muscular Berliners, will cause a certain Denver customs official to quickly cease leafing through said material and move you right along – lest his co-workers get the wrong idea.
Related:
I’d add encrypting that information before storing it. Truecrypt (freeware) is a great product and can also create ‘hidden’ encrypted files on a hard drive or USB stick which the typical search won’t turn up.
It also uses good encryption algorithms. Just come up with a good long random password :)
Thought this might interest you:
The Obama administration on Thursday put new restrictions on searches of laptops at U.S. borders to address concerns that federal agents have been rummaging through travelers’
personal information.
The long-criticized practice of searching travelers’ electronic devices will continue, but a supervisor now would need to approve holding a device for more than five days. Any copies of information taken from travelers’ machines would be destroyed within days if there were no legal reason to hold the information.