Just when you think the US Government can't get any more ridiculous, they do. According to the Washington Post, DHS has made several more broad claims about their border security capabilities. According to the DHS (home of the ever-brilliant TSA), without any just cause or suspicion Border agents may seize laptops for as long as they want, they can take them off-site, they can image them, and they can then share those drive images with any number of other government agencies. From the article:
"DHS officials said the newly disclosed policies -- which apply to anyone entering the country, including U.S. citizens -- are reasonable and necessary to prevent terrorism. Officials said such procedures have long been in place but were disclosed last month because of public interest in the matter."
(warning: RANT) To the DHS and the reigning terrorist regime that is the Bush administration: Seizing laptops without cause does more damage to the cause of freedom, democracy, and free markets than anything any half-wit terrorist with a shoe bomb could ever accomplish. You, Bush administration, have used "national security" and "terrorism" as a direct excuse to fundamentally undermine key tenets of this country, and you continue to make boneheaded decisions and policies like the one cited here without one iota of competence in the field of security. You can never eliminate all threats and vulnerabilities. There will always be risk. If you are not able to understand this core concept within information security than, please, for all of our sakes, remove yourselves from office because YOU are the threat to national security. Your continued use of terrorist threats, meant to scare and intimidate (indeed, to terrorize) the citizens of this country have grown tired and weak and pathetic.
It's my hope that Congress will finally intervene to constrain Border agents and DHS and TSA and any other idiots who think that all freedom and privacy should be sacrificed for "national security" so that practices like these will be halted. This policy of indefinite seizure of laptops is hostile to business travelers, and at a time when we need international business to be increasing! It's time to stick a fork in this "national security" abuse and reinstate a bit of personal security and privacy protection.
