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511 points moonsword | 4 comments | | HN request time: 0.766s | source
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Shank ◴[] No.42170993[source]
To me the biggest takeaway is that Apple is sufficiently paranoid to add this feature. Some people (like John Gruber) advocate for activating bio lockout at the border by squeezing the volume and power buttons. I would say if you’re the type of person who would do this, you should go one step further and power off.

Similarly, if you’re in a situation where you cannot guarantee your phone’s security because it’s leaving your possession, and you’re sufficiently worried, again, power off fully.

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phinnaeus ◴[] No.42171295[source]
What do you do if you’re at the border and they demand both the physical device and the password?

Let’s assume “get back on the plane and leave” is not a viable option.

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1. wutwutwat ◴[] No.42172174[source]
you can be forced to place your thumb on a sensor, or have the device held to your face.

you can't be forced to remember a password you "forgot"...

biometric authentication is not always your friend

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2. kevincox ◴[] No.42175220[source]
> you can't be forced to remember a password you "forgot"...

No, but the border agents also aren't required to let you into the country. (Generally unless you are a citizen.)

So border agents are very different than general laws of the country because while there may be legal protections about what they may be able to force you to do there are much less protections about when you have the right to pass the border (other than entering countries where you are a citizen).

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3. wutwutwat ◴[] No.42175342[source]
I never said anything about crossing a border. I said nobody can force you to remember something, for any reason, border crossing or otherwise
4. projektfu ◴[] No.42175949[source]
I don't think there is a technological solution for this unless you have some sort of sleight-of-hand. Typically, border agents of countries with lots of transit do not stop people for very long. Some other countries (North Korea, perhaps) might put everyone through the wringer because they do not have a lot of crossings. If a border agent of a relatively free country is stopping you, they probably have some suspicion, in which case it is best to not be holding evidence in your hand.

There are steganographic methods to hide your stuff. You can also use burners on either side of the border crossing and keep your main line clean. But bringing a device full of encrypted data (even if it's just your regular photo collection) that you refuse to unlock will probably be suspicious.

I know that there are times when there are no reasons for suspicion and people get stopped anyway. The border agent didn't like your look, or racism, or an order came down from on high to stop everyone from a particular country and annoy them. If that's the case, it's probably still best to not have a lot of incriminating evidence on your person, encrypted or not.