I am not sure if this is reassuring that they won’t do it or if it is scary because others are doing it:
“US border patrol officers don’t have the authority to examine data stored in the cloud when they search travelers’ phones, the US Customs and Border Protection has acknowledged.
“The agency clarified that while it can search electronic devices at the border without consent and in most cases without a warrant, it has no authority to search data in the cloud, according to a letter published Wednesday by NBC News. The clarification came in response to questions Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., had about what he called the ‘deeply troubling’ practice of border agents pressuring Americans into providing passwords and access to their social media accounts.”
The response from the US Border Patrol only covers searches initiated by that service. It does not include searches performed at the request of other government agencies, such as the FBI or the Drug Enforcement Administration. Apparently, those other searches are still being performed in computers and even cloud data all the time.
Details may be found in an article by Steven Musil in the C|Net web site at: http://cnet.co/2tOR86l.
Categories: Cloud Services, Online Privacy & Security
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