Electronic searches keep foreign businesspeople out of the U.S.

I received this sad e-mail from a software development manager who lives and works outside the United States. He was writing about an upcoming technology conference:

Hi Alan,

We had planned to send two developers to the conference, but the recent changes in US Customs initiatives has caused a change in our company policy for Business travel to the United States.

We simply cannot risk the possibility of losing sensitive client data, confidential information or electronic equipment. We respect the National Security issues of the United States, but apparently the United States no longer respects the rights of business travelers.

What he’s referring to is an initiative where U.S. Customs officials can search the contents of travels’ laptops — and confiscate them, if they believe there are secrets there.

This issue was first discussed in media reports in February, such as “Clarity Sought on Electronic Searches,” in the Washington Post. In February, security expert Bruce Schneier also discussed anecdotal reports about U.S. Customs officials seizing laptops.

The July 11 edition of USA Today carried an op/ed piece by Michael Chertoff, secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, insisting that these types of searches are legal and essential. He writes,

How often do we search laptops? Of the approximately 400 million travelers who entered the country last year, only a tiny percentage were referred to secondary baggage inspection for a more thorough examination. Of those, only a fraction had electronic devices that may have been checked.

We are, of course, mindful of travelers’ privacy. No devices are kept permanently unless there is probable cause. Likewise, any U.S. citizen’s information that is copied to facilitate a search is retained only if relevant to a lawful purpose such as a criminal or national security investigation, and otherwise is erased. Special privacy procedures govern the handling of commercial and attorney-client information.

An Aug. 11 statement by Jayson Ahern, deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs, says,

… And finally, to allay any concerns the business community or others may have that their personal or trade information might be put at risk by traveling with their laptops, I urge you to look at our track record. Every day, thousands of commercial entry documents, shipping manifests, container content lists, and detailed pieces of company information are transmitted to CBP so we can effectively process entries and screen cargo shipments bound for the United States. This information is closely guarded and governed by strict privacy procedures. Information from passenger laptops or other electronic devices is treated no differently.

Those official assurances may be small consolation to travelers whose computers contain confidential business data or sensitive trade secrets.

My advice to all travelers, but especially those traveling internationally: Leave your regular laptop at home. Instead, carry a “bare” laptop, with operating system and applications only. No data, no access codes or passwords. Instead, use Web-hosted applications and remote storage to get to your data once you’re at your destination.

Not only is that best for keeping your private data private against prying eyes, but it’ll also be best in case your laptop is otherwise lost or stolen.