This editorial was written for phys.org by Megan Squire, an experienced software engineer. The article, being centered around software conflict, is perfectly in Squire’s field of knowledge. Squire is a professor of computing sciences at Elon University and she obtained her Ph. D from Nova Southeastern University. Her article discusses the rising issue of privacy vs security. Many customs agents are demanding more and more access to both immigrants’ and travelers’ devices. Understandably, travelers are trying to devise ways to circumvent this invasion of privacy. Squire talks about the various methods of doing so and why the travelers have the right to practice it.
Starting in 2009, US customs have been given permission to search electronic devices carried by citizens. This includes the right to demand citizens’ passwords. One idea that Squire and many other software developers (including the team at Google) came up with was referred to as the “I’d love to comply, but I can’t” solution. The idea was that a user’s password is something they know subconsciously, but is actually unable to share with someone else. Squire compares this to a musician who has perfected their muscle memory. They can play the song, but can’t tell someone the order of the notes they play. This security feature is extended by locking out the user if it detects irregular patterns in the user’s habits (this means someone other than the user could not use it without being locked out).
Squire’s general argument, although never directly stated, is strongly implied: the customs searches are immoral and should be fought. She recognizes that the fight against them is borderline illegal, and addresses the real-world situations in the last paragraph. She reminds the reader that lying to the agent is the worst thing they could do. If you ever feel that your privacy is threatened, comply to the agent before seeking a digital civil liberties group.
https://phys.org/news/2017-03-passwords.html
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