When Your Computer Becomes a Weapon of Mass Destruction
 | by Drew on August 1st, 2008 |
A new report has been released stating that U.S. federal agents have been given new powers to seize travelers’ laptops and other electronic devices at the border and hold them for unspecified periods.Under recently disclosed Department of Homeland Security policies, such seizures may be carried out without suspicion of wrongdoing. In fact, Federal Agents are even allowed to share the contents of seized computers with other agencies and private entities for data decryption and other reasons. Other than the typical “Big Brother” theories DHS officials say the policies applied to anyone entering the country, including U.S. citizens, and were needed to prevent terrorism.
In some sense I can certainly understand this. However, there is nothing in place stating how long your PC can be held, what information can and can’t be accessed and what would happen if your laptop or other device were to be harmed. It seems to be a black hole of the gov’t taking the place of the Geek Squad and looking all through your stuff in the name of security.
The policies also cover hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes — as well as books, pamphlets and other written materials.