Comment on Feds in Catalonia, Spain think everyone using a Google Pixel must be a drug dealer
realitista@lemmy.world 3 days agoDoes a full shutdown encrypt all contents on iOS? This is something that everyone entering the USA as I have to do annually needs to think about.
Yes, but customs can still compel you to unlock your phone as we have recently seen with the Norweigan tourist who was denied entry due to having a JD Vance meme on his phone.
I would recommend having a separate phone with non-important data on it to take with you to the US, or have a self hosted cloud service that you can backup your data to before wiping your device.
How can they compel me?
You either unlock it or we send you back.
Can they really deport a US citizen?
Threatening to detain you indefinitely (your rights aren’t the same at the border/customs as they are after entering the country), or just outright deny you entry.
I heard they can’t actually hold you more than a couple days if you are a citizen./?
Natanael@infosec.pub 3 days ago
It’s all encrypted in storage. The decryption key is in the secure element / TPM chip, additionally protected by your PIN / password. Shutting it down unloads all encryption keys from memory.
Beware that US customs / immigration / border control can seize your phone and refuse entry.
realitista@lemmy.world 3 days ago
What happens if I turn it back on but don’t unlock it? Are the encryption keys in memory?
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
They’re not in memory until the first unlock, that’s why there’s the AFU vs BFU distinction for cellebrite unlocking devices incl iPhones.
But as the other person said, they can seize your phone and refuse entry. If you need to travel to the USA annually and you don’t want them to see your shit, you may want to have a decoy phone that’s not logged into your real accounts or have many photos on it. Just enough to make it believable it’s your real phone, but not enough to help them forge anything on you.
realitista@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I am a non-resident US citizen so I believe it would be more difficult for them to search and hold me without trial or legal representation. But these days anything is possible.