ACLU files suit over laptop search policy

Since 2008, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has been authorized to search travelers' laptops, smartphones and other electronic devices without any suspicion of wrongdoing, and this week the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit to put a stop to it. The ACLU is asking that CBP be required to secure a warrant and show probable cause--or at least reasonable suspicion--of criminal activity, reports Grant Gross in PCWorld.

The lawsuit alleges that the laptop of a French-American citizen was searched and confiscated when the man was traveling to New York from Montreal via train. When he got his laptop back 11 days after CBP took it from him, personal files, photos and chat records had been searched. According to the ACLU, the electronic devices of approximately 6,600 travelers were searched at border crossings from Oct. 1, 2008 to June 2, 2010.

For companies subject to regulations, protecting data isn't only a matter of liberty but also a compliance requirement, writes IDG News Service's Tony Bradley. Business travelers who don't want to take the chance of losing hold of their laptops or smartphones at the border can take a few precautions, he writes. Devices that are checked--after being safely packed--may be less likely to be randomly accessed. For those who prefer to keep their devices with them, data can be better protected by using encryption or a USB drive.

For more:
- see the Grant Gross article at PCWorld
- see Tony Bradley's article at IDG News Service

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