Taking your phone across international borders – update

Credit: ZDNet/Flickr

You may have read a recent post on these pages about taking your phone across international borders. Check it at:

HitchHiker’s Guide 2 Tech – “Why you should never take your phone out of the country”
https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2017/02/why-you-should-never-take-your-phone.html

Below, Ars Technica staff interview Ahmed Ghappour,¹ UC Hastings law professor, expert in national security & cybersecurity, on taking your phone across international borders.

“If you’re a citizen, kinda stand your ground a bit, because I’d like to see what the record is for detention.” – Professor Ahmed Ghappour

Some other ideas discussed:

Mail the phone to yourself in the country you are entering to avoid crossing the border with it.

Can you be provided with a computer & required to log into your Facebook (or other) account?



Ars Technica Live: “What to do when border officials ask for your passwords”
https://arstechnica.com/video/2017/02/ars-technica-live-what-to-do-when-border-officials-ask-for-your-passwords/

If your are a citizen of the country your are entering, your can’t be denied entry, if your can prove you are a citizen. Hower, non-citizens may find it best to give up passwords to accounts such as email & Facebook. A set of accounts created for the purpose, can give you a persona which can be handed over without compromising your privacy.

Wired – “A Guide to Getting Past Customs With Your Digital Privacy Intact”, https://www.wired.com/2017/02/guide-getting-past-customs-digital-privacy-intact/
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¹ Wikipedia: “Ahmed Ghappour”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Ghappour

/ how to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour Android password-level security without having to type the damn thing it in all the time review SanDisk new Lightning USB 3.0 iXpand Flash Drive easy transfers backups in I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again neither should you US Customs Border Patrol agent airport how you can encrypt your entire life in less than an hour security save you physical possession your phone laptop intimidate giving up your password what happened to a US citizen returning home from abroad Sidd Bikkannavar US-born scientist NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory flew back to Houston Texas airport Customs and Border Patrol agents searched him detained release him password unlock his phone Bikkannavar phone belonged to NASA sensitive information he eventually yielded unlocked his phone legality 30 minutes phone unlocked outside of his possession apps you have on your phone email Facebook Dropbox browser Signal history of everything you’ve ever done searched everything you’ve ever said to anyone right there in those apps we should treat personal electronic data with the same care and respect as weapons-grade plutonium  dangerous long-lasting leaked no getting it back  Cory Doctorow how many potentially incriminating things police go before a judge establish probable cause warrant to search your home anyone can be grabbed on their way through customs forced hand over the full contents of their digital life Elcomsoft forensic software suck down all your photos contacts passwords email social media accounts  customers include police forces various countries militaries private security forces tools permanently archive everything there your unlocked phone If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man I would find something in them to have him hanged Cardinal Richelieu in 1641 Customs and Border Patrol succeed in getting ahold of your unlocked phone all of the people you’ve ever called emailed all the people you’re connected with on Facebook LinkedIn chances committed a serious crime have you ever taken a photo at a protest bought a controversial book Amazon vented about an encounter with a police officer information now part of your permanent record dragged out as evidence against you in court movement within government make all data from all departments available all staff at a local state federal level more places your data ends up larger hacker attack surface more vulnerable your data security breach police station result in your data ending up in the hands of hackers used against you from the shadows for the rest of your life fourth and fifth amendment rights illegal fourth amendment protects you against unreasonable search and seizure fifth amendment protects you against self-incrimination police officer stop you on the street America ask you to unlock your phone amendments strong legal ground refusing to do so US border isn’t technically the US next time you plan to cross a border leave your phone at home /

Dark side of coding

Credit: CommitStrip

More insights at: http://www.commitstrip.com/en/ / coding coder progam programme programmer programming display advertisement app apps install uninstall real quite common too much temptation in advertising advertisers don't care annoying a million people defrauding their own customers get paid profession that's only beneficial in theory in practice costs to our economy far outweigh the benefit many adblock options for mobile blocked advert servers network escape them chromecast /

Coders just rescued NASA’s Earth science data

Credit: Jamie Lyons/Wired

The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012

This very expensive GLOBAL WARMING bullshit has got to stop. Our planet is freezing, record low temps,and our GW scientists are stuck in ice

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2014

It's really cold outside, they are calling it a major freeze, weeks ahead of normal. Man, we could use a big fat dose of global warming!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 19, 2015

Signs are that Donald Trump hasn’t revised his attitude on climate change,¹ & he’s stacked his cabinet with deniers & those hostile to the environment.²

With this in mind, a group of coders took action to make NASA’s climate data safe, & track future deletions

Wired – “Diehard coders just rescued NASA’s Earth science data”
https://www.wired.com/2017/02/diehard-coders-just-saved-nasas-earth-science-data/?mbid=nl_21917_p7&CNDID=
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¹ Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “Badlands National Park deletes tweets on climate change statistics, following Donald Trump gag order”, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-25/badlands-national-park-deletes-climate-change-tweets/8211012

² The Atlantic: “The Donald Trump Cabinet Tracker”, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/trump-cabinet-tracker/510527/ / coders rescued NASA’s Earth science data coders took action to make NASA’s climate data safe UC Berkeley’s campus 200 adults Doe Library rescue federal climate data groups more than 20 cities believe Trump administration might want to disappear this data down a memory hole hackers scientists students collecting save outside government servers groups like DataRefuge Environmental Data and Governance Initiative organized Berkeley hackathon collect data from NASA’s earth sciences programs Department of Energy doing more than archiving diehard coders building robust systems monitor ongoing changes to government websites keeping track of what’s been removed learn exactly when the pruning began Tag It Bag It data collection is methodical group immediately sets web crawlers easily-copied government pages sending text Internet Archive digital library hundreds billions snapshots webpages tag more data-intensive projects pages lots links databases interactive graphics for the other group called baggers coders write custom scripts scrape complicated data sets sprawling patched together federal websites systems written piecemeal over 30 years no coherent philosophy providing data websites Daniel Roesler chief technology officer UtilityAPI volunteer guides Berkeley bagger group coder who goes by Tek download multi-satellite precipitation data NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center starting August access Goddard Earth Science Data required login totally legal digging around site DataRefuge prohibits hacking Tek found buried link old FTP server clicked started downloading data all of 2016 some 2015 non-coders hit dead-ends too 404 Page not found errors NASA’s Earth Observing System website empty databases Global Change Data Center reports archive NASA’s atmospheric CO2 datasets real problem when or why data disappeared backed it up scientists understand it better DataRefuge EDGI monitoring changes and deletions building software that can do it automatically Future Farming most advanced software builders tools they’ll need filters separate mundane updates major shake-ups explored blockchain-like systems build auditable ledgers of alterations engineers call version control how do you know if something has changed How do you know if you have the latest How do you keep track of the old stuff writing code volunteers signed build tools DataRefuge EDGI organizers movement vast decentralized network from all 50 states and Canada volunteers code tracking software archive a little bit every day group had collectively loaded 8,404 NASA DOE webpages Internet Archive covering the entirety of NASA’s earth science efforts built backdoors download 25 gigabytes from 101 public datasets scripts larger datasets finished running mood was somber still so much work to do climate change data just the tip of the iceberg Eric Kansa anthropologist manages archaeological data archiving non-profit group Open Context huge number of other datasets being threatened with cultural historical sociological information National Parks Service huge data portal contains park visitation stats GIS boundaries inventories of species computer ran scripts pull out a list everything in the portal working his way through each quirky dataset /

Why you should never take your phone out of the country

Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Update 14 November 2019: Bloomberg: “U.S. Border Agents Can’t Randomly Search Phones, Judge Rules", https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-12/u-s-judge-blocks-suspicionless-searches-of-phones-at-borders?cmpid=BBD111319_BIZ&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=191113&utm_campaign=bloombergdaily

Linked below is an article about your undefined status at international borders. Included is a story about a US born scientist, returning to the United States, effectively imprisoned by US Customs, until he agreed to unlock his phone & allow customs agents to take it away for inspection. This despite the fact that he informed them that the phone belonged to NASA & contained sensitive information.

Welcome home!

Given the circumstances above, how secure are the contents of your phone at international boundaries?

Actually, there is a way around this, but it is far from convenient – the data on your phone is probably backed up in the cloud – do a factory reset before customs, & then reload everything on the other side.

I did warn you it wouldn’t be convenient :(

Both Android & iPhones back up data to the cloud by default. If yours isn’t doing this, set it up now!

Make sure you encrypt your phone, & that you have a strong password, for everyday use, but, as described above, wipe it before crossing international borders.

freeCodeCamp – “I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again. Neither should you.”
https://medium.freecodecamp.com/ill-never-bring-my-phone-on-an-international-flight-again-neither-should-you-e9289cde0e5f#.c0dj1gxh7

freeCodeCamp – “How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour”
https://medium.freecodecamp.com/tor-signal-and-beyond-a-law-abiding-citizens-guide-to-privacy-1a593f2104c3#.h73ukac1k

Many people don't want to use a password on their phone because it is inconvenient to type it in, every time they want to check an SMS. On Android phones it is quite easy to have it unlocked under a range of circumstances, including while connected to your home WiFi network, Bluetooth in your car, fitness tracker, or other device, but lock when the connection is lost. Read how to do it at:

HitchHiker's Guide 2 Tech – “Android password-level security without having to type the damn thing it in all the time!”
https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2015/11/android-password-level-security-without.html

And your music? You may regard your music as a must on a long international flight. But it is probably many megabytes of data. Reloading this after customs may be even less practical than your other data. If your phone accepts a microSD card, store your media there, & remove it before erasing you phone. If your phone doesn't accept a microSD, there are other external storage options for Android & iOS, such as SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive for iPhone & iPad. Alternatively, you could store your media on an mp3 player.


SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive for iPhone & iPad
Credit: SanDisk

MacRumors – “Review: SanDisk's New Lightning/USB 3.0 iXpand Flash Drive Offers Easy Transfers & Backups in a Slim Package”
https://www.macrumors.com/review/sandisk-ixpand-usb-3/

Thanks to John for some of the links above. / how to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour Android password-level security without having to type the damn thing it in all the time review SanDisk new Lightning USB 3.0 iXpand Flash Drive easy transfers backups in I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again neither should you US Customs Border Patrol agent airport how you can encrypt your entire life in less than an hour security save you physical possession your phone laptop intimidate giving up your password what happened to a US citizen returning home from abroad Sidd Bikkannavar US-born scientist NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory flew back to Houston Texas airport Customs and Border Patrol agents searched him detained release him password unlock his phone Bikkannavar phone belonged to NASA sensitive information he eventually yielded unlocked his phone legality 30 minutes phone unlocked outside of his possession apps you have on your phone email Facebook Dropbox browser Signal history of everything you’ve ever done searched everything you’ve ever said to anyone right there in those apps we should treat personal electronic data with the same care and respect as weapons-grade plutonium  dangerous long-lasting leaked no getting it back  Cory Doctorow how many potentially incriminating things police go before a judge establish probable cause warrant to search your home anyone can be grabbed on their way through customs forced hand over the full contents of their digital life Elcomsoft forensic software suck down all your photos contacts passwords email social media accounts  customers include police forces various countries militaries private security forces tools permanently archive everything there your unlocked phone If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man I would find something in them to have him hanged Cardinal Richelieu in 1641 Customs and Border Patrol succeed in getting ahold of your unlocked phone all of the people you’ve ever called emailed all the people you’re connected with on Facebook LinkedIn chances committed a serious crime have you ever taken a photo at a protest bought a controversial book Amazon vented about an encounter with a police officer information now part of your permanent record dragged out as evidence against you in court movement within government make all data from all departments available all staff at a local state federal level more places your data ends up larger hacker attack surface more vulnerable your data security breach police station result in your data ending up in the hands of hackers used against you from the shadows for the rest of your life fourth and fifth amendment rights illegal fourth amendment protects you against unreasonable search and seizure fifth amendment protects you against self-incrimination police officer stop you on the street America ask you to unlock your phone amendments strong legal ground refusing to do so US border isn’t technically the US next time you plan to cross a border leave your phone at home /

Ensuring the next Samsung phone doesn’t explode

Credit: Greentec

Samsung’s Note 7 was a disaster, from both a financial, & a public relations point of view.¹ Samsung has to get its next range of premium phones right. Measures taken include delaying the announcement from February to March, & sourcing batteries from multiple suppliers.

Boy Genius Report – “Samsung is making extra-sure the Galaxy S8’s battery won’t explode”
https://bgr.com/2017/02/17/galaxy-s8-battery-rumors/
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¹ HitchHiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Note 7 fires – what Samsung found”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2017/01/note-7-fires-what-samsung-found.html / Samsung making extra sure Galaxy S8 battery won’t explode Samsung’s next big thing brand new Samsung Galaxy flagship Apple’s incoming iPhone Galaxy S8 regain trust of customers massive Galaxy Note 7 battery scandal Galaxy S8 unfortunate role first phone launch combustible Galaxy Note 7 phablet Samsung battery problems new report Samsung third battery maker Galaxy S8 Samsung ensure new phone safe for consumers Samsung delayed Galaxy S8 launch late February late March Galaxy Note 7 fallout prevent any battery issues future Samsung also announced a series of additional battery tests should prevent accidents in the future Samsung cells batteries Samsung SDI Samsung ATL Galaxy Note 7 fires faults not identified during production fires explosions supplying batteries Samsung phones making Galaxy S8 batteries equip Samsung’s next flagship Samsung Sony to make Galaxy S8 batteries Japanese giant selling its battery unit to Murata Japan-based company recently rumored rumoured make batteries for the Galaxy S8 LG make batteries for the Galaxy S8 Sony battery sales to Samsung Sony batteries use different materials more heat-resistant less energy-efficient Sony’s limited production capacity increase smartphone battery recent Galaxy S8 rumor Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus Sony batteries Galaxy S8 launched at an event in New York late March 2017 /

Add a minimalist wallet to your phone

Minimalist wallets have become enormously popular. The Identity minimalist wallet was recently reported on these pages.

Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech – “Identity – unique minimalist wallet”


Identity card wallet
Credit: The Gadgeteer

http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2017/01/identity-unique-minimalist-wallet.html

Just now, a search on Kickstarter for “minimalist wallet” returned 314 matches.

Many examples from conventional manufacturers too, such as:


Bellroy Micro Sleeve
Credit: Bellroy

https://bellroy.com/products/micro-sleeve-wallet/caramel

Most minimalist wallet of all is no wallet! Some phone cases include provision for card(s) &/or cash, such as


Otterbox Strada case for Samsung Galaxy S7 with room for 1 card or cash
Credit: Otterbox

iDownload Blog – “Some great wallet cases for the iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus”
http://www.idownloadblog.com/2016/09/26/wallet-cases-for-iphone-7/

If you have a case you are otherwise satisfied with, or prefer your phone naked, there are glue on pockets such as this one from Elago that can accomodate 2 cards. It is available in black, Italian Rose, & Jean Indigo.


Elago Card Pocket adds space for 2 cards to many phones & cases
Credit: Pinterest

Elago – “Card Pocket”
http://www.elagostore.com/elago-style/epocket-jin.html / Identity Card wallet review EDC quality item simple to use minimal minimalist how much space they take up never use cash anymore. When I buy something easier swipe credit card unzip wallet pull out the required cash receive change back wallets tend to be bulky accumulate extra stuff receipts other paper Identity Card wallet minimal wallet Identity Card wallet ultra small and ultra light weight light-weight lightweight minimalist wallet aerospace-grade aerospace grade carbon fiber unique folded one-piece design separate your cards into two piles wallet hold four cards on one side of the wallet and four cards on the other side wallet hold four cards on each side footprint almost the same size regular credit card smallest wallet I’ve found so far sides are smooth to the touch no rough edges Identity Card wallet offers wallet with or without a logo badge on the front crowdfunding campaign wallet logo badge offering it without the badge badgeless version edges of the logo cards that I carry in the Identity Card wallet several regular plastic credit cards along few thinner paper cards business cards held securely in place by the sides of the wallet cards inserted into the wallet still very thin diagonal cutouts on the front and back easy to slide out the top card with your thumb Identity Card wallet fits very easily into my pocket so thin that I barely even notice that it’s there zero bad things to say about the Identity Card wallet can’t use it to carry cash perfect wallet for minimalists wallet cases iPhone 7 iPhone 7 Plus Card Pocket Samsung Galaxy S7 Otterbox Bellroy phone case minimalist wallet crowd funding Italian Rose Jean Indigo Elago accomodate cards black Italian Rose Jean Indigo /

Web myth – NASA used a million dollar ball-point – USSR used a pencil

Fisher AG7 Anti-Gravity Pen – the original Space Pen first used by astronauts in 1968 on Apollo 7
Credit: Canit

Conventional ball-point pens depend on gravity to feed ink to the ball. You've probably seen this when trying to write with a ball-point using a vertical surface to support the paper – delivery of ink to the ball soon fails, & the ball-point stops writing.

Another consequence is that conventional ball-point pens don't work in micro-gravity environments, such as Earth-orbit.

You’ve probably seen the stories circulating on mail lists, that go something like this:

US Government/NASA spent thousands/hundreds of thousands/millions/many millions of dollars developing a ball-point that would work in micro-gravity, & the USSR used a pencil. Stupid/incompetent/wasteful US Government/NASA. Clever USSR.

This story is wrong at every turn:

1. neither the US Government, nor NASA, ever spent a cent on development of a ball-point pen for use by astronauts

2. pencils were used in the early days of both the American & Russian space programmes

3. a pencil is a threat to safety in a space vehicle – pencil “lead” is substantially graphite, a form of carbon, which can burn – a no-no in space vehicles, since the fatal Apollo 1 fire in 1967

4. in use, pencil “lead” can release tiny flakes or break – this poses no threat on Earth – gravity takes care of that – in microgravity, small pieces of floating pencil “lead” may be inhaled or enter other bodily openings

5. small pieces of floating “lead” in a micro-gravity environment can interfere with the operation of sensitive equipment

6. graphite in pencil “lead” is electrically conductive, adding short circuiting to the risks posed to electrical equipment

7. soon after a suitable ball-point pen became available, the USSR began using it too

Development of the Space Pen was entirely funded by the Fisher Pen Company, under the direction of founder Paul C. Fisher. A cost of $US1 million has been claimed.¹

Actually, what allows the Fisher Space Pen to write in micro-gravity is the refill.


Fisher Space Pen refil
Credit: Sidetek/Blogger

Ink is delivered to the ball in any orientation, with or without gravity, by gas pressure. Ink continues to flow at temperatures ranging from -30°F to +250°F (-34°C to 121°C).²

Fisher's original Space Pen, the AG7 Anti-Gravity Pen, first flew in space in 1968 on Apollo 7.

You can still buy an identical pen from Fisher at http://www.spacepen.com/originalastronautspacepen.aspx

Snopes – “The Write Stuff”, http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

Scientific American – “Fact or Fiction?: NASA Spent Millions to Develop a Pen that Would Write in Space, whereas the Soviet Cosmonauts Used a Pencil”, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-nasa-spen/
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¹ Scientific American: “Fact or Fiction?: NASA Spent Millions to Develop a Pen that Would Write in Space, whereas the Soviet Cosmonauts Used a Pencil”, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-nasa-spen/

² Fisher Space Pen Co: “About Us”, http://www.spacepen.com/about-us.aspx / pencil lead graphite carbon fact or fiction NASA spent millions develop biro ball point pen write in space Soviet cosmonauts used pencil problem weightless writing Soviet central planning American sub-contracting private investor space race 1960s millions of taxpayer dollars develop pen ink paper without gravity Soviet cosmonauts pencils message simplicity thrift failure common sense bureaucracy Internet NASA Soviet cosmonauts used pencils outcry NASA find something cheaper astronauts tips flaked broke off drifting in microgravity potentially harm astronaut or equipment pencils are flammable NASA avoid Apollo 1 fire Paul C. Fisher Fisher Pen Company invested $1 million create commonly known as the space pen investment money NASA's coffers 1965 Fisher patented pen write upside-down frigid or roasting conditions underwater other liquids Fisher AG-7 Anti-Gravity Space Pen NASA testing space pen spaceflights beginning in 1967 ball-point pen ballpoint pen Fisher's pen gravity ink flowing cartridge pressurized nitrogen 35 pounds per square inch pressure pushes ink toward tungsten carbide ball pen tip ink ink stays gellike solid movement of the ballpoint turns it into a fluid pressurized pressurised nitrogen prevents air from mixing with the ink cannot evaporate or oxidize oxidise February 1968 NASA ordered 400 Fisher's antigravity ballpoint pens Apollo program Soviet Union ordered 100 pens 1,000 ink cartridges Soyuz space missions 40 percent discount buying in bulk /