By AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan
London (AP) – Planning an international trip? Travelers should be prepared for the possibility of further scrutiny of their phones, especially when entering the US, crossing borders.
The Canadian government warned travelers in a recent travel advisory that US border agents have the right to search for electronic devices and “they don’t need to provide a reason to request a password to open a device.”
In some recent cases, travelers are nervous about their privacy, such as when a Brown University professor with a US visa is deported to Lebanon after a border agent spots a photo of a Hezbollah leader on her phone.
“100% privacy may not be possible in these situations, but there are some things that make it easier for someone to see your private data, even physical access to your device.”
Here are some tips to protect the privacy of your device while traveling:
What should I do before I leave?
Experts say the best strategy is to reduce the amount of information you have while traveling.
If possible, leave your phone at home. If you need it on your trip, borrow the tactics used by business executives who are trying to avoid hackers. Get a temporary or “burner” device. It can only contain information you need for your trip. Download other things from the cloud whenever you need them.
If you need to bring your phone or laptop, upload sensitive information to a cloud storage service that uses end-to-end encryption and remove the original from your device.
It also encrypts your phone or laptop storage drive and protects it with a strong password. Note that this is different from simply having a cracked device passcode lock, or end-to-end encryption for your favorite communications platform.
Turn off fingerprint or facial recognition and use pins or passcodes instead.
What searches are conducted at borders?
According to the US Customs and Border Protection website, there are two types of searches.
A basic search involves executives scrolling through photos, emails, apps and files on their mobile phones. No suspected fraud is required to carry out this type of search.
Advanced search allows you to copy the contents of your device for analysis. However, senior managers must sign off and, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), “reasonable suspicion” of legal violations are required, unless there is a concern about national security.
Who is at risk of being searched and what are they looking for?
“It’s hard to say,” said Sophia Cope, senior staff lawyer at EFF, who will provide an extensive online guide to border privacy. No warrant is required to inspect devices belonging to people entering the country.
Last year, US Customs and Border Protection Agents conducted over 47,000 electronic device searches, a total of 10 times higher than 10 years ago.
A basic search could be “a complete random, completely random, or just a premonition about someone.”
For example, if travelers come from a common location where terrorism, drug trafficking, or child sex tourism, travel history could also be relevant, she said. Border agents can search for devices “at the request” of other agencies, such as the FBI, or if they are associated with someone else of interest, such as journalist sources, business associates, or family.
What should I do when I reach the border?
It is best to power the device when it lands.
Under current policy, US border agents are permitted to look only at information stored on devices, nothing is stored in the cloud. So, if you need to keep your phone on, make sure you are disconnected from the internet due to Wi-Fi or cellular data, or otherwise keep your phone.
“We’ll put the device into plane mode before crossing the border to prevent accidental download of remote files,” the Canadian government warns.
However, there may be some cache data that is still on your phone, such as unempty trash files.
What happens if I refuse?
American citizens cannot refuse entry to the United States by refusing to agree to searching for devices. The same should apply to legal permanent residents, such as green card holders, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
But agents can make things difficult if they are rejected. Travelers can be questioned, temporarily detained, seized devices, or not returned for days or weeks, rights groups say.
If they say no, foreign travelers can turn back.
If you are forced to unlock your device, Egger advises, “If possible, instead of saying a pin or password, log in yourself and if you force your password, change it as soon as possible.”
The reason why experts shouldn’t use fingerprints or facial recognition features on devices is that it’s easy to force biometrics to unlock devices. Border agents can also post their phones on their faces and force them to push their fingers into the device. They also fear that police will be able to use fingerprints stored in government databases.
Powering your device is another way to protect you from sophisticated attacks in case you don’t agree to searching.
According to Will Greenberg, senior staff technician at EFF, most modern phones and some laptops encrypt data using strong encryption keys that are only accessible if the user unlocks it with PassCode.
If the device is locked but not turned off, the key remains loaded into the device’s memory. Powerful hacking tools created by companies like Cellebrite can recover keys and decrypt data.
However, if the device is off, the key is unloaded, turned on again, and is not accessible until it is unlocked with a passcode.
“This is why Border Agents can’t turn on devices and use tools like Celebrite,” Greenberg said.
How about social media?
To be on the safe side, remove the social media app and reinstall it later. Although the content is primarily stored on social media companies’ servers, Cope says that some posts and images can remain in the memory cache of your phone, and therefore can also be viewed in airplane mode.
What else can I search for?
It’s not just phones and laptops. Search for digital cameras, smartwatches, tablets, external hard drives and other electronic devices.
What are you not doing?
Some tactics may backfire. If you want to wipe your phone or laptop hard drive completely before a trip, experts warn that it can cause scrutiny.
“The fact that you wiped your hard drive if detected by a border agent may inspire your agent to ask why you did that,” says the EFF guide. “Even if you travel without the devices or data that most travelers usually have, you can still attract doubts and questions.”
Also, don’t try to hide device information, as border agents can find it, the group says. “Lising to an agent on the border can be a serious crime, and agents may have a very broad view of what they are lying about,” he says.
What about other destinations?
Please check the location method before your trip. For example, the UK’s counterterrorism law allows police, along with passwords and pins, to require people across the country’s borders to pass through the device. If they refuse, they could be charged with terrorism.
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