Thread

Border agents can search cellphones without a warrant or reasonable suspicion

235 points · 198 comments · mmh0000

righthand · 1789756315 · focus · HN ↗
So carry a separate device while traveling. Or wipe your phone, then restore after the border. This is just going to lead to a service that does this for you and the overreaching feds won’t be able to do anything about it.
And as far as I can tell you still don’t have to give them your pin code.
1. autoexec · 1789756984 · focus · HN ↗
  They don't need your pin, they can just hack the phone take all your data anyway. ICE has a contract with Cellebrite
  1. puppycodes · 1789758004 · focus · HN ↗
    Not really. Cellebrite isn't magic. If you have an up to date OS and a strong password not pin, encryption functions as it should. The best thing to do is simply have a travel phone.
    autoexec · 1789759422 · focus · HN ↗
    It's not magic, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work most of the time.
    From <a href="https://cellebrite.com/en/blog/the-access-gap-is-closed-what-cellebrite-can-unlock-in-2026/" rel="nofollow">https://cellebrite.com/en/blog/the-access-gap-is-closed-what... :
    Here’s what that looks like in practice in 2026:
    iOS: Cellebrite supports access to the latest iPhone models and iOS versions, including both after-first-unlock (AFU) and before-first-unlock (BFU) states. Recent updates have introduced new AFU access methods for previously unsupported iOS device configurations, expanding the range of devices that can be accessed without requiring a prior unlock event.
    Android: The latest releases restored and expanded full file system (FFS) extraction across a broad range of newer Android models, which is an area where the competitive landscape had seen fluctuation. Coverage now spans Samsung, Google Pixel and other major Android manufacturers at their current OS versions.
    puppycodes · 1789943583 · focus · HN ↗
    "Access" is not what you think it means. This is marketing hype directly from their site. I have first hand experience using their extractors and its not as robust as they make it sound. They extract metadata outside of the encrypted volumes. It all depends on what your worried about.
    Actual hardware 0-days are highly coveted, extremely expensive, military classified tools that TSA does not have access too and never will.
    Edit: CBP not TSA (thanks good callout)
    righthand · 1789944062 · focus · HN ↗
    Minor nitpick this wouldnt be TSA but CBP; both are anti-American organizations under DHS.

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