EDITORIAL: TSA to download your iTunes? (Government moves to expand Constitution-free zones)

Washington Times ^ | 4/18/2010

[markomalley]

Federal security workers are now free to snoop through more than just your undergarments and luggage at the airport. Thanks to a recent series of federal court decisions, the digital belongings of international fliers are now open for inspection. This includes reading the saved e-mails on your laptop, scanning the address book on your iPhone or BlackBerry and closely scrutinizing your digital vacation snapshots.

Unlike the more common confiscations of dangerous Evian bottles and fingernail clippers, these searches are not being done in the name of safety. The digital seizures instead are part of a disturbing trend of federal agencies using legal gimmicks to sidestep Fourth Amendment constitutional protections. This became clear in an April 8 court ruling that found admissible the evidence obtained by officials who had peeped at a passenger's laptop files at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

According to court documents, FBI agents had identified an individual suspected of downloading child pornography on an Internet chat room. The G-men, however, did not want to take their evidence before a judge to obtain a search warrant, as the Constitution requires. Instead, they flagged the suspect's passport and asked officials at the Department of Homeland Security to seize and search his computer at the airport - without a warrant. Three incriminating images were found during the examination, but this case is not about whether a particular person is a scumbag. It's about abusing a principle that applies to all Americans.

[screaminsunshine]

You should notice the Alinski information center in the White House has issued orders to all MSM operatives to attempt to tie all Tea Party supporters to domestic terrorism. They are more afraid of Mom and Pop Taxpayer than our real enemies. CNN and MSNBC are on the case wit non-stop brainwashing attempts. Fortunatly hardly anyone pays any attention to them anymore.

[rintense]

Jay Mohr does a great Walkin.

[ctdonath2]

I suppose you can wedge your own apps in there, but the point is a standard drop-and-use no-installation-needed packaging of popular freeware/OSS apps. As my laptop slowly croaks, I’m drifting all my Windows life onto PortableApps.

[CORedneck]

Kind of scary ! I traveled to Japan and New Zealand a couple of years ago and I took a 14” iBook with me. Of course, the things I had on it were some pictures, ITunes music and Netscape bookmarks. On the pictures, every so often I would upload them to a server here at home in case the machine would get stolen or go belly up. I also put the pictures on a thumb drive as well. I had the e-mail setup where each time the program was re-run, you would have to put in the password.

[RobRoy]

One of the clear messages of the constitution regarding this sort of thing is tht the ends do not justify the means. This travesty is much more narrow than the article implies at the beginning and in the title, but it is simply wrong, and unconstitutional, nonetheless.

It only goes to show, judges are imperfect people too. Sometimes woefully so.

[SJSAMPLE]

Yes. I think it’s his best. Ditto for Kevin Pollak.
But something about a good non-Caucasian really brings it home.

[Vigilanteman]

LOL! I guess you’re right because they lacked the backbone to take the case to the American people as Reagan often did when the Democrats blocked legislation which he needed.

[taxcontrol]

Encrypt your data files, ipods, computers, disk drives as a standard practice. I recommend PGP encryption for Windows users.

If ANY officer, agent or government employee wants to snoop, they will require the password to read the files. You can supply the password .... once you receive a copy of their search warrant.

[stuartcr]

I would imagine that if you don’t provide them, they keep the device.

[JerseyHighlander]

PortableApps.com uses mostly opensource apps.
There are ways to install your own apps that have commercial user agreements to work with the program, however at that point you would do better using a customized TinyXP rev10 minimum install on portable media. You can encrypt the entire portable media at 1024 bit encryption, and you can install a piece of software on the OS that overwrites the RAM with a randomized scrub upon each shutdown.

Add a vanilla install of a Linux OS on to the laptop with some “mugging’s wallet” false front and one of the more esoteric Linux drive formats, and you should be set as long as the TSA doesn’t find your portable media.

The other option involves only bringing factory fresh or IT dept fresh OS installed laptops on airplanes, and using 2048 bit encrypted Citrix services to do remote desktop usage with all files being downloaded on portable media on business trips. The portable media must be destroyed before entering the airport for the return flight. This is being used by many Fortune 500 companies when travelling to China and other east Asian countries now.

[stuartcr]

Lot’s of folks have to fly.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Lot’s of folks have to fly.

And they have my condolences.

[stuartcr]

Good idea...if you want to spend the day or more at the airport.

[stuartcr]

Thanks

[BronzePencil]

I recently took a folding knife with a 4-inch blade through security undetected. It was an accident by me - it was in my carry-on - which was x-rayed - and I didn’t realize it was in there until I got home and unpacked. Whoops.

[reagan4palin]

As I understand, no search warrant required IF you are entering the country. I hope I am wrong about that.

The problem is that if you surf the net at all and even if you do not visit porn sites, you could have illegal images on your computer that you are not aware of. They can take your computer and keep it for 48 hours or maybe more. There is really no way to be 100% safe if you are carrying a laptop.
This business of “illegal images” is way over the top as far as I am concerned. It is one thing if you are dealing in illegal porn and quite another if there are a couple of illegal images on your computer you are not even aware of.
One life ruined due to that stupidity is one too many. There have been a few people who have gone through total hell and huge expense because of images on their computer they were not aware of and even of innocent photos of their own children.

[Drill Thrawl]

Ha ha ha, that's funny! Don't give them the password and they will confiscate it and give it to the NSA to decrypt.

You silly surf. Do you think you have rights or something? Now get back to work, we need you tax money.

[roamer_1]

One word:

Truecrypt.

[AFreeBird]

Look up “truecrypt”. They have extensive papers on the various scenarios of how truecrypt can be used. Works on Mac, Linux and winders.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

Let them get past the multiple passwords first.

That has been tried by many people at many airports. If you don't give the passwords, they keep the equipment under [unconstitutional] asset forfeiture laws. Of course, that can be an acceptable risk for some people in some circumstances. Or you can store your sensitive data online in encrypted format and retrieve it at your destination.

The bottom line is that as long as the sheeple are not shooting at them when they trample your rights ("headshots" per G.Gordon Liddy), they don't care about the Constitution or your rights, who's in office, Republican (Bush) or Democrat (Obama), or your vote or opinion on anything they care about.