Title : How to protect your phone from border guards, and why it's probably a bad idea: Going through customs is now even less fun
How to protect your phone from border guards, and why it's probably a bad idea: Going through customs is now even less fun
Article Technology, How to protect your phone from border guards, and why it's probably a bad idea: Going through customs is now even less fun.Image: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesBy Jack Morse2017-03-04 15:34:00 UTC If the government wants your data, they're probably going to get it — one way or another. As many are belatedly realizing under the administration of Donald Trump, Fourth Amendment protections against "unreasonable search and seizure" pretty much go up in smoke at the U.S. border. Travelers entering the country have long been accustomed to handing over luggage for inspection, but the amount and scope of private information kept on phones and laptops means that with a simple search Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials are now able to peer into the most intimate details of people's lives. Here's the bad news: With the legal status of such digital searches mostly clear, there isn't much the average person can do about it. This isn't a hypothetical concern. While current numbers are difficult to come by, ACLU Staff Attorney Esha Bhandari told me 2016 saw an increase in reported device searches at the border. For context, The New York Times reports that, in 2015, agents inspected 4,444 cellphones and 320 other unspecified electronic devices at the border. This is not just a concern for foreigners. As the highly publicized case of Sidd Bikkannavar made clear, agents are pressuring even U.S. citizens to hand over phones and passwords. If Bikkannavar, an employee of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a pre-cleared Global Entry participant, can be detained and put through the ringer, so can anyone else. This man is probably not thinking about data security. Image: Joe Raedle/Getty Images In fact, that's exactly the broad power claimed by CBP. "CBP has put out a policy which is their own interpretation of their search authority at the border," explained Bhandari. That interpretation, known as CBP Directive No. 3340-049, states that searches can go down "with or without individualized suspicion." It also explicitly states that medical records, information carried by journalists, and "business or commercial information" are all subject to search. Basically, CBP officials don't care how sensitive you say your data is. They're going to search it if they want to. "More and more people travel with smart devices," reiterated Bhandari. "Even cursory searches can reveal a lot of information — your emails, financial information, health history." A losing battle There are a number of steps travelers can take to mitigate risk when it comes to exposing their information, but, as is sometimes true, the absolute best-case scenario you can hope for is to slide by unnoticed. Because if CBP wants access to your phone or computer, they can make your life incredibly unpleasant if you don't comply. And of course, there are different considerations to be made if you're a U.S. citizen or non-citizen. U.S. citizens have the right to return to the U.S., Bhandari assured me. Non-citizens do not share that same right. That means the two groups face starkly different choices when it comes to how to respond to CBP search requests. Foreign travelers can either comply, and hope that officials don't find fault (real or imagined) in their data, or risk being turned around and sent home. For U.S. citizens, the situation is better but not perfect. You don't have a say in whether or not officials single you out for inspection, but they can't deny you entry. They can hold you until you miss your flight, seize your devices, and generally make your life difficult, however. Still, have a plan With so much on the line, it's best to have a game plan decided in advance. You obviously don't want to miss your flight or, if you're a non-citizen, be turned around and sent home. So what to do when officials ask you to unlock your phone? Realistically, like so many before you, you're probably going to comply. With that in mind, it might not be a bad idea to prepare your device for a search before you head to the airport. Question time. Image: Chris Hondros/Getty Images First of all, do not lie to CBP agents. You could end up being charged with a serious crime, and that's not going to work out in your favor. Second, think about this: Although there are many steps you can take to safeguard your data — and many are outlined below — if you make your phone seem odd or unusual, that might arouse even more suspicion, which could end up being more of a hassle than you bargained for. More on that later. With those caveats out of the way, here are several things worth trying to protect your data from prying eyes. The easy The first thing you can try is logging out of your social media accounts from your device. That way, unless you specifically give up your social passwords to agents, they won't be able to easily read all your Facebook and Twitter private messages. Next, remove your email accounts from the device. It's relatively straightforward to add them back later, and, again, this will prevent unfettered access to your private or business email account. Even if you remove accounts, some data that was stored on the device could be recovered with forensic search tools, but at least it will stymie the CBP agent who wants to casually scroll through your phone. And that is often the main thing agents want to do. Agents can't legally force U.S. citizens to give up passwords, but they can make you open a device with your thumbprint. Next you should enable full-disk encryption on your device, if you haven't already. You need encryption to keep your data safe, even if you have a strong login password for your phone or laptop. Without encryption, it's a relatively straightforward task for officials with the right tools and training to get at the data in a device, whether they have the password or not. Next, disable biometrics — like a fingerprint or eye scan — on your device. CBP agents can't legally force U.S. citizens to give up passwords, but they can force you to open a device with your thumbprint. Also, if you're an iPhone owner, disable Siri access from your lockscreen. If you're running iOS 9.0.1 or older, Siri can be used to reveal contacts and other information even if the phone is locked, but even with later versions, it's still a good precaution to take. While you're taking the time to beef up your device security, go ahead and switch from a regular four- or six-digit passcode to an alphanumeric login — a combination of letters, numbers and other characters — which is much more secure. You can do this easily in your device settings. Once you've done that, choose a strong passphrase. This is not the same as a hard-to-remember, Sean Spicer-style random configuration of numbers and symbols. That kind of password sometimes be susceptible to a brute-force attack. Instead, considering using something like Diceware to generate a five-word phrase. Congratulations, you now have your absolute-minimum security game on point. Turn off that Touch ID. Image: George Frey/Getty Images The not so easy If you're not too attached to your laptop, but still need one for work, consider traveling with a cheap one that doesn't have much or any personal data on it. Devices like Chromebooks ideal for this. They're relatively inexpensive and offer security benefits over traditional computers. Specifically, Google's Chromebook is easy to wipe and, if you're signed out of your Google account, won't contain any information on you. Also, if your device is seized by agents, virtually all your data is on Google's servers anyway. Much like having a travel-only Chromebook, using a secondary smartphone as a "burner" phone is a good option, but it's a relatively expensive one. If you want to travel with your primary smartphone, you can easily back up your data to Apple's or Google's servers, factory reset your device and restore it later from the backup when you get to Wi-Fi at your destination. The needlessly complex What if you want to make sure that there's no way that anyone, including you, can access your accounts? Wired puts forth a fairly nutty solution that we don't endorse. Specifically, enable two-factor authentication on your accounts and then lock yourself out. With two-factor authentication set up (something we do recommend), to get into your account you need both your password and a login code that is typically texted to your phone. If you leave that SIM card at home, then you literally can't get into your accounts. And neither can CBP. That will work, but it does mean, well, you literally can't get into your accounts. Not the best option if you plan on sharing any Instagrams from your destination. However, if that isn't a deal-breaker for you, how about this: You could just leave all your electronics at home. Seemingly the simplest option, this is probably the biggest hassle. After all, traveling these days without email access and your contact list is legitimately frustrating. But still, it solves the immediate problem. Why this probably won't help you While all of this advice is good in theory, the real issue is how it works in practice. And that's where we run into problems. Respected South-African security researcher and hacker “the Grugq” argues that some of the tips floating around the internet right now not only won't help but could make things worse. "This advice is terrible, dangerous and possibly endangers anyone reckless enough to follow it," he writes on his blog. You can protect your data by any and all technical measures possible, but even for U.S. citizens refusing to unlock a phone or computer can have real-world consequences. CBP agents can seize your device for extended periods of time, or at the vary least hold you until you've missed your connecting flight. Non-U.S. citizens can of course be denied entry for refusing to comply — although doing what you're asked won't always work out in your favor either. In a piece titled "Stop Fabricating Travel Security Advice," Grugq points out that making things difficult for CBP agents is a way to red-flag yourself for additional scrutiny. He takes particular ire at the idea of wiping your phone before you travel. "People who are particularly concerned about sensitive information on devices should not travel with them." "If you’re lucky, maybe they’ll let you keep your equipment rather than confiscate it for a full forensic examination," he notes. "A wiped device indicates that you are deliberately hiding something from CBP, who will want to know what it is." We reached out to CBP for comment on the agency's policy of holding non-compliant travelers, but the agency didn't respond the the request. Damned if you do, damned if you don't In the end, as long as CBP has the authority to search your devices they're likely going to keep doing it. Sure, they can't force U.S. citizens to give up their passwords and social media accounts, but they can make non-compliance an extremely painful choice. Want to miss your flight? Have your phone and computer seized? No? Then you may feel compelled to make the decision that Bikkannavar made. A decision, it should be noted, that he later regretted. There is some hope on the horizon, however. Organizations like the ACLU are gearing up to file targeted FOIA requests aimed at CBP behavior, and tech juggernauts like Facebook are coming out against CBP's practices. "We oppose any efforts to force travelers at the border to turn over their private account information, including passwords," a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable. Time will tell if this pressure will have any effect on CBP policy, but in the meantime the advice of ACLU attorney Bhandari is probably your best bet. "People who are particularly concerned about sensitive information on devices should not travel with them." Unfortunately, there's not much else a typical traveler can do other than beef up their device's security and hope for the best. http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/mashable/tech/~3/a7-fThDtevM/
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