Laptop searches at U.S. borders

[Guest guest]

5 things you need to know about

laptop searches at U.S.

borders

Jaikumar

Vijayan

 

February

12, 2008 (Computerworld) A

lawsuit filed last week over warrantless searches of laptops and other

electronic devices at U.S.

borders highlights an issue that all travelers, U.S.

citizens and others, need to

be aware of when entering the country, according to the executive

director of

the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE).

The suit was filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation

(EFF)

and the Asian Law Caucus, two California-based civil rights groups. It

asks the

U.S. Department of

Homeland

Security (DHS) to disclose information on its policies for

inspecting the

contents of laptops and other electronic devices at the country's ports

of entry.

The lawsuit was prompted by

what the two groups contended were the

growing number of reports they were receiving from travelers who

claimed to

have been subjected to such searches. In most instances, the searches

were

conducted without apparent reason and with no details offered on what

information might have been viewed or downloaded by customs officials,

the suit

alleged.

Susan Gurley, executive

director of the Alexandria, Va.-based

ACTE, said that international travelers need to be aware of and

prepared for

such border searches, even though they are relatively rare. This is

especially

true because so far little is known about the DHS's policies relating

to the

practice and what it does with the information collected during

searches of

electronic devices, she said.

"This is by far not an epidemic

of any sort," Gurley

said. "But we think people should know that they basically are leaving

their right to privacy at the door when they cross the U.S.

border.

There is no assumption of privacy," at a port of entry, she said. Here

are

five factors Gurley says travelers should know about:

1. No evidence needed to take

your laptop

Border agents do not need any

evidence or suspicion of illegal

activity to examine a laptop or other electronic device.

Every time you cross the

border, customs officials have the right

to look at anything in your possession, including the content on your

laptop,

handheld device, cell phone, USB memory stick and digital cameras,

Gurley said.

They have the right to both view that information and to download or

mirror it

if they think it's necessary, she said.

2. Anything can be searched

Everything on an electronic

device is open to search. This

includes personal photographs, personal banking, any business documents

and

stored or unopened e-mail, Gurley said.

“We think people should know

that

they basically are leaving their right to privacy at the door when they

cross

the U.S.

border. There is no assumption of privacy [at a port of entry.”

Susan Gurley, executive

director of the

Association of Corporate Travel Executives

3. Your PC might not be

returned right away

Seized devices may be kept for

an indefinite period of time. Carry

only a laptop or electronic device you can afford to lose or hand over

for an

unspecified period of time.

Sensitive data should be sent

by e-mail before crossing the border

in case the data becomes unavailable if the device is seized, she said.

4. Don't take anything you

don't want to share

Don't carry anything on these

devices that could potentially

embarrass you or that you don't want others to see, Gurley said.

If it's information you don't

want to share, don't carry it. That

includes data such as personal banking information, photos,

correspondence, health and password

information. If the device is a

company-owned computer, don't carry proprietary business information or

personnel records on it, the ACTE advised.

5. Be

cooperative

Cooperate with customs

officials. Ask for a receipt and a badge

number if your computer is seized. Try and get whatever information you

can on

the reason why it was seized.

The goal is not to hide data

from border officials or the U.S

government, Gurley said. Rather, it is about being aware that your

laptop and

other electronic devices in your possession could be searched and to

prepare

for that eventuality, Gurley said. ACTE's surveys in the past have

shown that

very few travelers are aware of the potential for such searches. "Our

primary

concern is to alert travelers that their laptops and other electronic

devices

can be seized at a border without explanation, provocation or even

likely

cause," she said.

The lawsuit and the advice come

at a time when U.S courts have

sent mixed messages on the constitutionality of such searches. In one

case, the

Appeals Court

for the Ninth Circuit ruled that at a minimum, customs officials needed

to have

reasonable cause for conducting such searches. In another case, an

appeals

court ruled that such searches can be conducted without a warrant or

reasonable

cause. Both cases involved child pornography.