Thread

1. gblargg · 1790856581 · focus · HN ↗

   Too bad phones aren't easy to do a full back up of, wipe, then restore after you are past the border agents. Or can keep all user data on a microSD card that you remove and secure before the search.

   1. segmondy · 1790864223 · focus · HN ↗

      The challenge is that if you make it easy to restore, then security matters so much or a random person out there is going to restore your entire phone on another device. Privacy needs strong security, and strong security often involves great inconvenience which most people don't want to deal with.

      1. tancop · 1790927766 · focus · HN ↗

         Use hardware attestation with recovery phrase only as a backup. Your phone authenticates itself to the server using its hardware keys, the server sends all the files over a secure connection and your phone restores them. Easier to restore than most cloud based solutions because you don't even need to sign in.

         Attackers would need to know you're using that specific recovery system, get your server address, have a zero day or backdoor on the security chip and they might also need to disassemble your phone. That's a FBI level capability not CBP, it would take days and be impossible to hide. Unless they hack your server but that's a risk with every type of backup.

         1. segmondy · 1790947204 · focus · HN ↗

            My point is that anyone that can do what you are saying already knows how to travel with their devices securely. I'm talking about regular non techies.

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