Hidden In Plain View

[Seth]

Err whats wrong with the government saying decrypt that or go to jail?

Depends on the government and why they want to examine one's personal papers. Here in the US, they have to have probable cause to believe a crime is involved, and a warrant from a judge.

"you're just talking out your ass again and making things up out of whole cloth."

Customs/Border Patrol Agents don't need no steenkin Judge's order - they can inspect everything you try to bring into the country, including your rectum, and the mere fact they don't like you is justification enough. And, if you won't co-operate in disclosing what's in those encrypted files on your laptop, you'll probably never see it again, and YOU likely won't get in the country either, unless you're already a citizen, in which case you'll get a hard time.
Just ask the Ottawa Bishop who thought they'd never dare search a man of the cloth's laptop, and lordy, lordy, if they didn't find his stash of kiddy porn! Heh, heh - talk about a quick defrocking!

Well, that's why the ACLU is suing ICE, now isn't it? Like I said, we'll know in a few years what the court has to say about it.

[egbert]

Well, that's why the ACLU is suing ICE, now isn't it? Like I said, we'll know in a few years what the court has to say about it.

We're discussing the reality of here and now, not your future fantasies.

[AshtonBlack]

Zimmerman.

Inventor of PGP and a hero of mine. Still, even 1028 bit PGP keys can be broken by the NSA (and others) and the most secure encryption in the world doesn't address the problem supposedly addressed by the "purloined letter" program mentioned in the article, which is that when a government agent finds an encrypted file on a storage device, he's going to want to know what's in the file, and he's going to find out one way or another, even if it means throwing you naked into a cell and pulling out your fingernails one at a time till you reveal the key.

The "defrag the drive" expedient I mention is simply a way for customs personnel to be sure that the "purloined letter" stego system mentioned becomes an ineffective method of hiding encrypted data, in the same way that forcing you to boot up your computer or look through your camera lens is a way of helping to ensure that there's no Semtex replacing the CPU or glass.

Yada, yada. You must have gotten your secret spy agent training from one of those comic book coupons.

Only an idiot would lug a laptop with contraband on it through customs.
Upload your encrypted stuff to an online storage site, then cross the border, and then download your stuff. Sheesh. Domfkop.

Don't even take a laptop. Pretty good encrypted tunnels with VDI these days. All you need is an internet connection and a smart phone.... or so I've heard.

[AshtonBlack]

Zimmerman.

Inventor of PGP and a hero of mine. Still, even 1028 bit PGP keys can be broken by the NSA (and others) and the most secure encryption in the world doesn't address the problem supposedly addressed by the "purloined letter" program mentioned in the article, which is that when a government agent finds an encrypted file on a storage device, he's going to want to know what's in the file, and he's going to find out one way or another, even if it means throwing you naked into a cell and pulling out your fingernails one at a time till you reveal the key.

The "defrag the drive" expedient I mention is simply a way for customs personnel to be sure that the "purloined letter" stego system mentioned becomes an ineffective method of hiding encrypted data, in the same way that forcing you to boot up your computer or look through your camera lens is a way of helping to ensure that there's no Semtex replacing the CPU or glass.

Yada, yada. You must have gotten your secret spy agent training from one of those comic book coupons.

Only an idiot would lug a laptop with contraband on it through customs.
Upload your encrypted stuff to an online storage site, then cross the border, and then download your stuff. Sheesh. Domfkop.

Don't even take a laptop. Pretty good encrypted tunnels with VDI these days. All you need is an internet connection and a smart phone.... or so I've heard.