May 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 2
U.S. grants search at borders By Jaikumar Vijayan
Appeals Court judge reaffirms government’s authority to conduct warrantless searches of digital devices along U.S. borders
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aptop computers and other digital devices carried into the U.S. may be seized from travelers without a warrant and sent to a secondary site for forensic inspection, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled last week. The ruling is the second in less than a year that allows the U.S. government to conduct warrantless, offsite searches of digital devices seized at the country’s borders. A federal court in Michigan last May issued a similar ruling in a case challenging the constitutionality of the warrantless seizure of a computer at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The defendant in a child pornography case also contended that a subsequent search of the device at a secondary computer forensic facility violated the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.
Several other courts, including the Ninth Circuit itself, have ruled that warrantless, suspicion-less searches of laptops and other digital devices can take place at U.S. border locations. Privacy advocates and travel groups have expressed concern that searches of such laptops could expose such sensitive corporate or customer information, especially citing the Department of Homeland Security’s policy of copying or downloading the data if necessary. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that according to government documents it has obtained, U.S. customs officials searched electronic devices belonging to about 6,600 travelers between October 2008 and June 2010. The ACLU also said that U.S. officials confiscated more than 220 devices between October 2008 and June 2009.
New app manages Android devices By Brad Reed
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support have launched a new application that will let IT departments remotely support and manage their users’ Android-based devices.
The RemoteCall application can come preloaded onto Android phones or it can be downloaded from the Android Market. Once it has been installed, IT departments can use their desktop computers to remotely view the users’ Android home screens in real time and to remotely control the devices. Rsupport, which made its name developing remote support software for desktop computers, says that the application is useful for any IT department that wants to screen Android applications before allowing users to install them onto their company devices. The app lets IT workers see a list of all the applications installed on the device and gives them the option of remotely uninstalling unwanted apps from their desktops. The security of Android applications and the Android Market came under scrutiny in March this year when Google
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
had to remove around 50 malware-infected applications from its Android Market by activating an Android app kill switch. Google has traditionally allowed any and all applications onto its Android Market and has only removed malicious applications if they have been flagged as dangerous or suspect by market users. In addition to managing applications on Android devices, IT departments can also use RemoteCall to text chat with end users to give them updates on what they’re doing. Conversely, end users can lock the screen view on the IT worker’s side if the end user is using the device to send private messages. The application is also able to stay connected to the network when switching between 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, the company says. Rsupport CEO Hans Seo says the company plans to approach U.S. smartphone manufacturers and wireless carriers in an effort to convince them to preinstall the application onto their devices. He says the company already has similar agreements in place with Samsung and LG.
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