Re: [tlug] government getting ready to inspect your iPod, laptop without probable cause

[Curt Sampson <cjs@example.com>]

Note that encryption alone may not be a sufficient solution. I expect
at some point soon law enforcement will have as part of their standard
equipment a USB key that can examine a drive looking for other
partitions, encrypted partitions, and so on, as well as doing a usual
run through the entire filesystem flagging things that look suspcious.
This program would of course come in Windows, Mac and Linux versions,
and the key will be bootable as well.

My impression is that customs, whether they charge you with anything or
not, are perfectly free to refuse you entry or to keep your laptop for
a few weeks for examination. The sensible thing seems to be not to have
the data on your laptop.

The safest thing would be of course to download your data via the
Internet after you arrive. But there are a few other options. You could
carry it in encrypted format in some other medium, perhaps on a CD
or on a flash card. You could attempt to hide the existence of that
data by physically hiding the card, either in "open sight" (in your
camera, phone, or other device) or covertly (sewn into the lining of
your jacket, or possibly even swallowed to be excreted after arrival).
For a CD, you could cons up something that looks like and plays like a
standard audio CD or video DVD, but also has your data stored in another
session on the disk, preferably one that's not visible without special
tools. In fact, that would probably be a good way to move a lot of
data: burn five DVDs with a 30-second video clip and the rest as your
data, and as your cover story say that it's five copies of your latest
proposal for a 30-second promo spot for some product.

Of course, good steganography is probably the best, especially if you're
carrying what's essentially an empty laptop with a lot of free space.
But it had better be good, since soon you'll be competing against
forensic tools designed to discover just these sorts of things.

If you decide to carry the data with you, you can ensure that it cannot
be exposed by not carrying the encryption key; have someone else send
that to you after you arrive. However, you do run the risk that you
will not be allowed into the country, have the media confiscated, or
something else unfun if you claim that you can't decrypt the data.

cjs
-- 
Curt Sampson       <cjs@example.com>        +81 90 7737 2974   
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