Crossing the Border With Your Electronic Devices

ShmooCon XVI - 2020

Presented by: William Budington, Kurt Opsahl
Date: Sunday February 02, 2020
Time: 10:00 - 10:50
Location: Bring it On!

Our lives are on our laptops: family photos, medical documents, banking information, details about what websites we visit, and so much more. Digital searches at national borders can reach our personal correspondence, health information, and financial records, allowing an affront to privacy and dignity which is inconsistent with the values of a free society. While privacy and security is important for any traveler, this has become a critical issue for security researchers, who often travel with confidential information, and who shouldn’t need to trade off an invasive search for participating in important conversations. This talk will discuss the both the legal and policy issues with border searches, as well as technological measures people can use in an effort to protect their data.

William Budington

Bill Budington (@legind) and Kurt Opsahl (@kurtopsahl) fight for digital rights at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where Bill is a Senior Staff Technologist, and Kurt is the Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel. Bill works on EFF’s Tech Projects team, building out the HTTPS Everywhere and Panopticlick software projects and researching emergent technologies. Kurt is an attorney who represents clients on civil liberties, free speech and privacy law, counsels on EFF projects and initiatives, and is the lead attorney on the Coders Rights Project, providing pro bono legal counsel to security researchers.

Kurt Opsahl

Bill Budington (@legind) and Kurt Opsahl (@kurtopsahl) fight for digital rights at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where Bill is a Senior Staff Technologist, and Kurt is the Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel. Bill works on EFF’s Tech Projects team, building out the HTTPS Everywhere and Panopticlick software projects and researching emergent technologies. Kurt is an attorney who represents clients on civil liberties, free speech and privacy law, counsels on EFF projects and initiatives, and is the lead attorney on the Coders Rights Project, providing pro bono legal counsel to security researchers.


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