[3206] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Encryption is like a locked suitcase
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Ian Brown)
Thu Aug 20 16:31:33 1998
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 11:09:56 +0100
From: Ian Brown <I.Brown@cs.ucl.ac.uk>
To: cryptography@c2.net
UK Customs' view of encrypted laptop hard disks...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000116192758126&rtmo=keZ71kkp&atmo=gggggggK&P4_FOLLOW_ON=/missions/connect/ecnlap20.html&pg=/et/missions/connect/ecnlap20.html
Customs targets laptop hard drive contents
By Simon Davies
...
A spokesman for Customs and Excise said officials would routinely
scan laptops for illegal material such as pornography. Encrypted
files will be treated in the same way as a ordinary luggage. "So far
as we are concerned, there is no difference between an encrypted
file and a locked suitcase," said the spokesman. "All travellers
entering the country should be prepared to have their equipment
scanned."
Laptop carriers will have little choice but to submit to the demands
of Customs officials. People refusing to open files or divulge keys
will be subject to a court order. Refusal to obey the order would
constitute contempt of court - an offence that can result in
imprisonment.
Unlike cases involving body searches, Customs officers are not
required to establish grounds for "reasonable suspicion" before
conducting a computer search.
The Home Office has not issued specific guidelines on the practice,
leaving Customs officers free to take copies of disk scans. This has
alarmed business leaders, who have raised concerns that sensitive
commercial data could be compromised.
...
