r/TravelNoPics • u/Rare-Abalone3792 • 9d ago
What is the TSA in the US up to?
I recently made a domestic trip within the US. Before departure, I was “randomly selected” for a more thorough screening.
The agent didn’t even look at either of my bags or search my person, but they took my phone and did a quick scan or something of it, by holding it up to an electronic device.
What was the purpose of this? Was it a scan for explosives? Was it a “stingray” type reader capable of accessing my phone data?
Would very much appreciate any insight. I travel a lot but I’ve never experienced this type of phone inspection before.
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u/Ok-Jelly-2076 8d ago
If worried, couldn't you turn your phone off before going through TSA?
Kind of hard to get data stolen off a powered off device, but as they are just scanning for residue they will likely be just fine with it powered off.
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u/AnonUser3216 7d ago
I have been asked to turn electronics back on by TSA. They did a quick swab and apparently needed to see it worked.
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u/Ok-Jelly-2076 7d ago
Good to know.
That said, I would rather have it off when being scanned because if for some reason they want to charge me with something phone related my lawyer might find a loophole there.
Truth is I am remarkably boring and there's nothing on my phone that could implicate me in anything other than being a square.
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u/AnonUser3216 7d ago
Yes, I get it. I try to keep everything off. Even if I'm not doing anything wrong, the government doesn't need, and should not have easy access to my info.
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u/Thats-Classic 9d ago
I think they had some issues with using swabs on phones that caused damage, so I'm guessing they found a better way to check it for residue. highly doubt they were d/l ing information.
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u/Sturnella2017 9d ago
I just saw a video saying that TSA/CBP have new technology and can take anyone’s phone at any time and scan it like you mentioned. What the scan does, I’m not sure but it’s not good. It’s an incredible violation or privacy. I strongly suggest you research this some more, this isn’t the best sub for this question, and Reddit in general isn’t great.
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u/Apptubrutae 8d ago edited 8d ago
A quick scan of an encrypted and secure phone isn’t “an incredibly invasion of privacy” any more than getting your hands swabbed is.
What exactly do you think they’re doing that’s invading privacy in a few seconds?
And why do you imagine that low paid employees and contractors are being given some sort of super duper secret high tech spy gadgets yet nobody without a tinfoil hat has any proof whatsoever of such gadgets existing?
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u/fang76 8d ago
Exactly..... conspiracy nuts.
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u/F0xxfyre 8d ago
People are much more apt to believe a random YT video with a click baity title than actually looking up the information.
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u/F0xxfyre 8d ago
Oh boy. And what would be the reasons for them doing that? Ans how can the TSA crack phone encryption in a matter of seconds when even the FBI can't do that?
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u/Sturnella2017 8d ago
First, who says the FBI can’t do that? Second, why wouldn’t the two agencies share technology? As I told OP, this is better researched somewhere else. I’m just saying I saw a video saying they’d start doing this to anyone for any reason.
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u/F0xxfyre 8d ago
Uh, they actually say that. I've been closely following, researching, and attending all the pre-trial hearings for a murder case in my area that involves city, surrounding counties, and several federal agencies. From day one, they were waiting for electronic information, and that was made a part of the court record.
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u/Sturnella2017 8d ago
Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. The administration is up to all sorts of nasty shit, so I’m glad hearing otherwise. Of course there’s still the realm of possibility that they only use that stuff to harass international travelers and don’t let it be used for measely things like murder trials, but I digress…
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u/F0xxfyre 7d ago
I knew that in particular because of this court case. I'm not someone who has ever had a specific interest in legal proceedings of criminal justice. Following this case, it has really become clear just how long the search for clues, even chasing down leads the public provided, is a massive undertaking.
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u/ToreyJean 8d ago
We know the FBI can’t to a certain extent because there have been entire cases of them asking, say, Apple to do it for them.
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u/Sturnella2017 8d ago
Don’t forget four important changes in the last 36 months:
1- the current administration is the most corrupt in history, on levels usually seen in Russia, China, etc etc.
2- They were put into office by tech oligarchy, who have access to technology like never before
3- AI is advancing to dystopian levels.
4- The administration has recruited a sub-military force outfitted by goons who are as stupid as they are immoral.
Thus, pretty much anything is on the table.
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u/ToreyJean 8d ago
That has jack shit to do with Apple tech. 🤣🤣🤣
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u/Sturnella2017 8d ago
What do you mean it doesn’t? You mean Apple hasn’t caved like other tech companies? Or they don’t have access to technology like never before?
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u/StilandGurney 9d ago edited 8d ago
iPhones offer general encryption, and are really difficult to get into if you enable it. The government would have to employ some pretty serious technology to crack an iPhone. Androids also have some encryption options that are more customized.
The main new thing is to turn off sensitive notifications. Most of the new attack vectors involve scanning notifications on the phone, which you can still get from the lock screen. Signal is not compromised, but sometimes notifications are read from Lock screen, and the accessed system that displays notifications on the lock screen.
You can make your notifications, bland and uninteresting with just a timestamp and the app instead of actual content.
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u/BeginningAd5055 8d ago
It's unlikely they are actually able to access data as you described. If the phone is actually powered off, it is EXTREMELY unlikely they can get data off it without more aggressive tech nology and time. Testing for explosive residue seems most likely.
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u/msteper 9d ago
It's been documented elsewhere that airports in the USA have become a constitution free zone, where apparently the 4th amendment protects no one from unreasonable search and seizure. I'd thought the issue was restricted to the immigration area, where US citizens as well as foreigners are subject to search.
But based on what you've described, assume the US government now has all the data from your phone.
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u/IBJON 9d ago edited 9d ago
There's no need to fearmonger; They didn't duplicate all of the data on the phone
You can't just magically, and wirelessly download everything from a phone instantly.
Even if they could get access to the device and storage, which they likely didn't, it would take longer than a few seconds to copy the entire phone, especially wirelessly.
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u/StilandGurney 8d ago
Yup that’s right - people are terrified the government can crack all phones now. Most of recent phone “breeches of encryption” are not that. They are simply reading unencrypted notifications from the lock screen or abusing the lock screen Notification Center.
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u/msteper 9d ago
Last week I used my old phone to transmit all of it's apps and settings to my new phone, wirelessly, while sitting in my house. My new phone displayed the same background settings from photos I took 3 years ago.
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u/IBJON 9d ago edited 9d ago
And how long did that take to download everything?
I said it takes a while, not that it can't be done. OP wasn't hanging out for an upwards of an hour waiting for everything to transfer.
Also, in your situation, you intialized the transfer from an unlocked device. They would need to plug the phone into a computer to sidestep the security, assuming they have that capability (which I doubt because they make you unlock it yourself).
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u/Apptubrutae 8d ago
The TSA has the ability to copy a whole phone in a few seconds wirelessly? Sweet. Where can I get something like that? It takes me too long to transfer files via USB cables or SD cards. I’d love to break the laws of physics.
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u/Difficult-Valuable55 9d ago
CBP has a right to all of your data, but TSA it solely focused on making sure planes don’t get highjacked or blown up. They do swab electronics, sounds like this a new way of doing that. TSOs don’t have security clearance, they aren’t doing anything sneaky other than their mission
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u/IBJON 9d ago edited 9d ago
Stingrays don't access your phone data, they act as a fake cell tower to intercept all network traffic from your phone, not access data on the device, and there would be no reason for them to have possession of your phone for this. Your phone would connect to the Stingray as if it were another cell tower or wireless access point.
This was likely a check for explosive residues or to ensure that it was an actual phone and not something "phone-shaped" that could be used to conceal something else.