[IP] more on search experience on "border"

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Tom Fairlie <tfairlie@frontiernet.net>
Date: August 3, 2006 8:24:14 AM EDT
To: dave@farber.net
Cc: lauren@vortex.com, travis@redswoosh.net
Subject: Re: [IP] more on search experience on "border"

> And to what end?

We know that the Bush administration has long tried to
earn points with religious fundamentalists. We also know
that this same administration operates incompetently the
majority of the time (both objective facts). Thus, creating
a speed bump at our borders to keep out evil porn would
be a good example of a policy that fits both MOs--it's
appealing to prudes and ineffective/costly at the same time.

We also know that the Bush administration has accelerated
our descent into fascism. This isn't hyperbole; anyone who
studies such things would at least admit that this is a
debatable assertion. The stopping of good travelers at our
borders for a little personal interrogation, while not effective
at stopping anything, is a marvelous form of thought control
(e.g., "Let's remember to not bring anything with us that
might be considered offensive to our government." begets
"Let's not say anything offensive to our government." begets
"My government knows best.")

I think the real answer is somewhere in the middle. As we've
all discussed, the TSA has been largely ineffective and they
aren't free. However, they have also now done a long list of
things that, for better or worse, have forced millions of
Americans to think twice before performing many different
innocuous actions before traveling. Given that this list is growing
and not shrinking based upon public outcry, I gather that my
second option above is either part of the plan or just a happy
coincidence.

Tom Fairlie


----- Original Message -----
From: "David Farber" <dave@farber.net>
To: <ip@v2.listbox.com>
Sent: Monday, July 31, 2006 11:25 AM
Subject: [IP] more on search experience on "border"




Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>
Date: July 31, 2006 12:21:00 PM EDT
To: travis@redswoosh.net
Cc: dave@farber.net, lauren@vortex.com
Subject: Re: [IP] search experience on "border"


> From: Travis Kalanick <travis@redswoosh.net>
...
> While operating my laptop he said that we was tasked with preventing
> illegal pornographic material from entering the United States
...
> He returned my laptop after this warrantless search saying I was free

Dave,

And to what end -- other than going through the motions -- is such
a search?

Given a quick check, the border agent would be unlikely to find a
cache of porn photos that was compressed and archived in a single
encrypted file named C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB911567 or some other
obscure name -- not a single JPG porn file to be found in a file
scan.

Perhaps what's really going on in such border cases is some sort of
"amateur test" -- since any pro who wanted to bring porn (or any
other data) into the U.S. on a laptop would never leave the data in
an easily discovered form.  But then again, why bother using the
laptop?  How about putting an innocuous looking file on that cute
keychain memory dongle?  Or on an iPod?  Porn could be easily rigged
to look like an mp3 file, that could even play properly.  Or why not
use some spare cell phone memory area?  Or how about that 2 Gig
memory stick in the camera, or a miniSD memory card inserted
into an electric razor or the binding of a book?

To quote the wonderful episode "OBIT" from the original '60s
television series "The Outer Limits": "The machines are everywhere!"
Anyone with half a brain who wants to bring data into the U.S. can
do so without meaningful detection, short of a full body cavity
strip search and prolonged forensic analysis -- and even then the
true nature of any data might well be undiscovered.

All of the rest is for show, and perhaps to cull the low hanging fruit.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com or lauren@pfir.org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
    - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, IOIC
    - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com




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