How to enter the USA with its digital privacy intact

Finally, Wessler recommends that travelers update their operating systems on both laptops and telephones before crossing the border. This is because in some cases CBP could use tools such as Cellebrite or Graykey to use unpatched weaknesses in these devices and to be able to access them without the user unlocking them. “If your operating system is outdated for six months, your device is susceptible,” says Wessler. “The latest version may not be.”

Keep passwords secret

This is the difficult part. American citizens cannot be deported because they can be refused to give up passwords for social media accounts or encrypted devices, says the Wessler of the ACLU. This means that if you exist and do not specify passwords or pens, you may be arrested and your devices confiscated – even if you are sent to a forensic facility – but you will finally get through your privacy than if you reveal secrets. “You can confiscate your device for months while trying to collapse,” says Wessler. “But you will come home.” (Despite the shocking Trump government Treatment in some cases of foreign constant residentsThis protection also applies to Green Card owners, says Wessler.)

However, be warned that the refusal of the customs officer can lead access to at least hours of uncertain detention in a bleak, windowless CBP office. At some US Restrictions and restrictions You can access your devices to which CBP officials, but there is hardly a guarantee that these restrictions are followed in practice if border officers have their computer or telephone without supervision.

On the whole of the CBP Outline Two types of device visits: Basic, whereby an “manually” civil servant “manually checks manually; and an extended search in which a device is connected to external devices and the content can be checked, copied or analyzed. The latter search requires” reasonable suspicion “of crime, says CBP. The official guidance of the agency expressly avoids that people hand over passwords and have to deal with the problem according to the problem say Devices should be “presented in a condition that enables the exam”.

“If the electronic device cannot be checked, since it is protected by a pass code or encryption or another security mechanism, this device can be excluded, detained or another reasonable measure or disposition,” says the agency online.

For non-Americans who come to the USA with a visa or from a Visa-Taiver country, Wessler warns that they are exposed to a much strong dilemma: refuses to give up a pass code or a PIN, and they can be denied the entry. “There is a very practical assessment that people have to do with what is most important for them,” he says. “Get into the country, but sacrifice privacy or protect your privacy – but risk that you are turned over at the border.”

Minimize the data you wear

For the most endangered travelers, there is a clear solution for this dilemma: the best way to keep customs away from your data is to simply not travel with it. Instead, set up travelers like Lackey that store the minimum of sensitive data. Do not link these “dirty” devices with your personal accounts, and if you have to create a linked account – like with an Apple -ID for iOS devices – you create freshness with unique user names and passwords. “If you ask for access and you cannot refuse, you would like to be able to give you access without losing sensitive information,” says Lacke.

(Admittedly, social media accounts cannot be stopped so easily. Some security experts recommend creating secondary personas that can be offered to the customs officials while keeping a more sensitive account secret. However, if CBP agents connect their identity to an account that they want to hide, the result can be a longer imprisonment and, even for non -refusal,)))