Protecting Your Data When Traveling Abroad

[Tywais]

This applies primarily to US border entry as I do not know of other country's procedures on search and seizure of digital devices which includes drives, SD cards, PCs, tablets, phones etc. but will probably apply as a general rule. If you have sensitive data such as confidential business documents, passwords and account information, etc. then these are things you should know both on a security level and data loss possibilities.

A snapshot of some of the article:

Our lives are on our laptops – family photos, medical documents, banking information, details about what websites we visit, and so much more. Thanks to protections enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, the government generally can’t snoop through your laptop for no reason. But those privacy protections don’t safeguard travelers at the U.S. border, where the U.S. government can take an electronic device, search through all the files, and keep it for a while for further scrutiny – without any suspicion of wrongdoing whatsoever.

For doctors, lawyers, and many business professionals, these border searches can compromise the privacy of sensitive professional information, including trade secrets, attorney-client and doctor-patient communications, research and business strategies, some of which a traveler has legal and contractual obligations to protect. For the rest of us, searches that can reach our personal correspondence, health information, and financial records are reasonably viewed as an affront to privacy and dignity and inconsistent with the values of a free society.

Despite the lack of legal protections against the search itself, however, those concerned about the security and privacy of the information on their devices at the border can use technological measures in an effort to protect their data. They can also choose not to take private data across the border with them at all, and then use technical measures to retrieve it from abroad. As the explanations below demonstrate, some of these technical measures are simple to implement, while others are complex and require significant technical skill.

This is the pdf file of useful information for US Border entry - A Guide For Travelers Carrying Digital Devices (pdf)

[yermanee]

Have done dozens of trips to Europe i.e. FRA. BRU. and CDG with at least my laptop and smartphone, sometimes tablet and I have never been asked to open any of them, just a cursory glance and that's it. That doesn't mean however that it cannot happen.

Thanks for the info.

Yermanee

[phuketrichard]

same,

travel at least once/year to the states, not once have i ever been asked to even start the computer

Have heard stories of others not so lucky that had ther computer "held" for up to 2 months and than returned.

[craigt3365]

I've been back and forth dozens of times. Never been asked to open my laptop. Never.

[Tywais]

I've been back and forth dozens of times. Never been asked to open my laptop. Never.

I remember a very long time ago, well before 911, that myself and most that I knew were required to open our laptops and to power it on to verify it was as it appeared to be so we always made sure our batteries were charged. Happened on nearly every trip in the US both domestic flights and International. At that time it wasn't data that was the concern. I suspect that when it started was shortly after the Lockerbie Pan Am 103 bombing in 1988.

The article though does show certain profiles are at higher susceptibility than others and the overall percentages are low. Plus it is not just the chance of seizure the article goes over but the potential of physical loss or damage and methods to negate the problems that can occur.

[kimbathewhitelion]

What is this op...fear? Of which doesn't exist! Question, whom is originally behind this OP, so specific & such a lie? Interesting & yet amusing on the mind game in thus approach. And, if that idiot doesn't understand my writing/grammar again then I shall sponsor a starving child in order to give him a brain.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[MW72]

I have to say that the OP is high lighting a serious issue. I work for a US company but a European division and we received a Company travel advisory warning us that US homeland security can confiscate our laptops and extract personal data with no explanation and it may take months to return it.

I have also worked in Ethiopia where if you take more than 1laptop through customs they will suspect you of importing them and try and charge you duty. When we first arrived we all had personal and work laptops. I was asked why 2 and the guy believed my explanation that one was for work and one was personal but others were less fortunate. The guys who got pulled up for having 2 were told that one laptop would be confiscated and they naturally gave the customs the work laptop. Needless to say that after that the Company issued everyone with export certificates for carrying Company laptops overseas. I think it took around 3 months to get the laptops back from customs.

Sent from my KFTT using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[roamer]

UK and some other countries much worse. Not only can they seize your data but if you have encrypted it they can ask you to reveal your key. In the UK failure to supply it can be punishable by a 2 year prison sentence.In the US the Supreme court has ruled that you are protected by the Fifth Amendment, they can have your laptop but not your key.

[farang62]

Keep your data on a Cloud Server, access from anywhere. Safe, secure and no hassels.

[payanak]

With only a couple of minor exceptions cloud servers are absolutely NOT safe or secure!

[noodle]

 

Keep your data on a Cloud Server, access from anywhere. Safe, secure and no hassels.

Cloud Server = NSA goldmine. About as secure as Facebook:)

BTW it's hassle.

[Mario2008]

Like many other countries, they use pofiling to select potential suspects and the US will of course also check names against secret lists of terror suspects, intelligence targets etc.

A male 40+ traveling alone coming from a country like Thailand is a likely target for search of electronic divices for child pornography. Happens a lot in the US, the UK and other European countries like the Netherlands, with occasional arrests.

[WhizBang]

I do have photos, documents, banking info etc on my phone, tablet and laptop that I would not want to get into the wrong hands. So I use encryption software to 'hide' them.

There are many programs available. For instance... TrueCrypt, DriveCrypt and FreeOTFE, to name but a few.

FreeOTFE, by the way, is available for Android devices. It's called LUKS Manager.

[puipuitom]

Once at Düsseldorf airport I was asked to show my camera was a real camera, so... make a picture ( with a digital.. no costs).

Comment: better here 5 seconds longer in a queue at the gate than blown up in the sky.

Second and if case they can see private correspondence, private pictures, even medical files... so what.

My angry e-mails to somebody who supplied me wrong ? Of love / hate letters to somebody ? Even medical files ? For myself: I even want to publish my lower back problem in every magazine on the world. Maybe a doctor has a better idea to teat.

And.. sexy pictures of my wife ? On Internet you can find better.

Military secrets ? I do not have

Company secrets… for those very few.

Lawyers with confidential files ? How many ?

And if… you do not store these on a big notebook, but on a small memory chip.

I am very happy some government organisation tries to pick out the bad guys, who are trying to hurt or kill me.

I wished they also would protect my home with 24 h a day camera surveyance and .. when possible,… my own satellite with staff to follow me.

Edited January 30, 2014 by puipuitom

[steveyinasia]

Only experience I had was in Saudi where they could sweep your drives looking for naked pictures or porn….never got checked however the fear of being checked made me dump years of good photos…..hehehehehe

[marquis22]

Like many other countries, they use pofiling to select potential suspects and the US will of course also check names against secret lists of terror suspects, intelligence targets etc.

A male 40+ traveling alone coming from a country like Thailand is a likely target for search of electronic divices for child pornography. Happens a lot in the US, the UK and other European countries like the Netherlands, with occasional arrests.

A year ago I had my external HD taken and looked at when going through customs at Melbourne Australia airport. I asked why I was checked and was told I match the age and the frequency of travelling to Thailand of a child pornographer.

[Wavnarok]

Use Kremlin Sentry Encrypt and forget about it . I dont have nothing personal against , but USA airport not even for Transit if possible . Is not the Laptop issue , is the issue of losing a flight because without any reason or suspicious an officer search during long time my belongings . Always find a way avoiding NYC or LA because of this .

Im 28 , had come more than 8 times from Thailand to European Airports and never been stopped or searched

Edited January 30, 2014 by Wavnarok

[sturdyd]

I've been shaken down twice entering the US. A very unpleasant experience both times. The second time they took my flash drives and SD cards off to some room somewhere and returned two hours later. During that time I was not allowed to use a phone, which was terribly inconvenient as I had a driver waiting in the airport cell phone lot. Of course they found nothing illegal because I had nothing illegal. There were, nevertheless, copies of personal correspondence, emais, financial information, etc.

Now when I travel to the US I run anything sensitive through TrueCrypt (free, highly recommended), store it in the cloud and do NOT carry it personally.

Screw the bastards!

[Wavnarok]

Once at Düsseldorf airport I was asked to show my camera was a real camera, so... make a picture ( with a digital.. no costs).

Comment: better here 5 seconds longer in a queue at the gate than blown up in the sky.

Second and if case they can see private correspondence, private pictures, even medical files... so what.

My angry e-mails to somebody who supplied me wrong ? Of love / hate letters to somebody ? Even medical files ? For myself: I even want to publish my lower back problem in every magazine on the world. Maybe a doctor has a better idea to teat.

And.. sexy pictures of my wife ? On Internet you can find better.

Military secrets ? I do not have

Company secrets… for those very few.

Lawyers with confidential files ? How many ?

And if… you do not store these on a big notebook, but on a small memory chip.

I am very happy some government organisation tries to pick out the bad guys, who are trying to hurt or kill me.

I wished they also would protect my home with 24 h a day camera surveyance and .. when possible,… my own satellite with staff to follow me.

Why do someone has to check your wife photos to protect us from the bad guys ? Just focusing and investigating in the correct way that wont show up .

Wake up , it seems you live in a lie . My privacy is not sold because some mooron says he needs to sneack my files with the excuse of "locating the bad guys" oh...please...

[iTravelNow]

I have to say that the OP is high lighting a serious issue. I work for a US company but a European division and we received a Company travel advisory warning us that US homeland security can confiscate our laptops and extract personal data with no explanation and it may take months to return it.

I have also worked in Ethiopia where if you take more than 1laptop through customs they will suspect you of importing them and try and charge you duty. When we first arrived we all had personal and work laptops. I was asked why 2 and the guy believed my explanation that one was for work and one was personal but others were less fortunate. The guys who got pulled up for having 2 were told that one laptop would be confiscated and they naturally gave the customs the work laptop. Needless to say that after that the Company issued everyone with export certificates for carrying Company laptops overseas. I think it took around 3 months to get the laptops back from customs.

Sent from my KFTT using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I also read many cases where US custom withheld HW and Data. Some business persons never got anything back again. I am wondering how HW and data is further used or not especially when not returned to the original owner.

[iTravelNow]

With only a couple of minor exceptions cloud servers are absolutely NOT safe or secure!

And which are the exceptions?

[Eaglekott]

With only a couple of minor exceptions cloud servers are absolutely NOT safe or secure!

And which are the exceptions?

Atleast all Cloud services that uses CrashPlan PROe as an engine for their Cloud is totally secure, You can keep the encryption keys by yourself and never have to escrow the 448bit key to the server and/or protect your backup with a password.

CAT Iris is a thai cloud backup based on CrashPlan engine, http://iris.cattelecom.com

[Chivas]

same,

travel at least once/year to the states, not once have i ever been asked to even start the computer

Have heard stories of others not so lucky that had ther computer "held" for up to 2 months and than returned.

Why ??

[iTravelNow]

With only a couple of minor exceptions cloud servers are absolutely NOT safe or secure!

And which are the exceptions?

Atleast all Cloud services that uses CrashPlan PROe as an engine for their Cloud is totally secure, You can keep the encryption keys by yourself and never have to escrow the 448bit key to the server and/or protect your backup with a password.

CAT Iris is a thai cloud backup based on CrashPlan engine, http://iris.cattelecom.com

Thanks will check it out

[sillymonkey]

UK and some other countries much worse. Not only can they seize your data but if you have encrypted it they can ask you to reveal your key. In the UK failure to supply it can be punishable by a 2 year prison sentence.In the US the Supreme court has ruled that you are protected by the Fifth Amendment, they can have your laptop but not your key.

I think you mean the IV Amendment to the US Constitution. Been reading the news over here lately, the Constitution doesn't mean much these days. I spent 30 years defending the Constitution, or at least that's what I was told. I only have 6 weeks remaining before I will depart my country to watch from the sidelines. In the USA, the question will boil down to the same question it always does. Do we have a reasonable expectation of privacy when travelling abroad with our laptops?

[bbbbooboo]

^{yes I got the 3rd degree from customs at Brisbane Airport Aust returning from Thailand a couple of years ago. Seemed they had decided I fit the profile for a paedophile/child porn user making regular trips to Thailand. Examined laptop, memory sticks etc asked me leading questions about "everything being for sale in Thailand" .I was patient with their investigations(like you have a choice?)which went on for 90 min. They found nothing and I went on my way irritated to put it mildly}

[ozyjon]

I've been back and forth dozens of times. Never been asked to open my laptop. Never.

To what countries please?

[ozyjon]

^{yes I got the 3rd degree from customs at Brisbane Airport Aust returning from Thailand a couple of years ago. Seemed they had decided I fit the profile for a paedophile/child porn user making regular trips to Thailand. Examined laptop, memory sticks etc asked me leading questions about "everything being for sale in Thailand" .I was patient with their investigations(like you have a choice?)which went on for 90 min. They found nothing and I went on my way irritated to put it mildly}

Exactly word for word but change a few things

a) Sydney airport

2 hours waiting for search to finish

I loved the leading questions,, customs later found out i had worked for them before, i kept quiet and

they got embarrassed, now i e-mail everything to myself 3 times, had an on line storage facility that was a pain in the butt, now looking to use cloud storage... let's see about that.

[ozyjon]

Keep your data on a Cloud Server, access from anywhere. Safe, secure and no hassels.

Safe and secure cloud service, i need to be convinced 100%

[ozyjon]

I have to say that the OP is high lighting a serious issue. I work for a US company but a European division and we received a Company travel advisory warning us that US homeland security can confiscate our laptops and extract personal data with no explanation and it may take months to return it.

I have also worked in Ethiopia where if you take more than 1laptop through customs they will suspect you of importing them and try and charge you duty. When we first arrived we all had personal and work laptops. I was asked why 2 and the guy believed my explanation that one was for work and one was personal but others were less fortunate. The guys who got pulled up for having 2 were told that one laptop would be confiscated and they naturally gave the customs the work laptop. Needless to say that after that the Company issued everyone with export certificates for carrying Company laptops overseas. I think it took around 3 months to get the laptops back from customs.

Sent from my KFTT using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I also read many cases where US custom withheld HW and Data. Some business persons never got anything back again. I am wondering how HW and data is further used or not especially when not returned to the original owner.

What does HW mean