Re: Travelling With Laptops/PGP

[Hans "Unicorn" Van de Looy <hvdl@sequent.com>]

Hi Se7en,

The one-and-only Evil se7en once stated:
! 
! Problem:
! 
! I will be spending a couple of months chilling out in Barcelona, Spain.
! I will have a local Internet account/dial-up in that city, and will use 
! it to telnet into my various US-based accounts. This is how I plan to 
! keep in touch with various people while I am gone.

No problem there...

! Questions:
! 
! 1 - Is the importation of two laptops and it's various peripheral devices 
! by a US citizen into Spain going to be a problem? I know it is in some 
! European countries.

Not as far as I know, but then again I'm no lawer...

! 2 - Will having PGP 2.6.2, with 2048-bit keys, or any key length for this 
! matter, installed on these two machines, cause a problem?

Why not bring the systems with  keyrings alone, and install 2.6.3ui when
you are actually in Spain?

! 3 - What about having SSH and ESM installed on the laptops? Will this set 
! off red flags as well?

The people  searching though your stuff  will most likely be  unaware of
any of these program's.  Just tell them  (if they ask) that you must use
it to  contact another computer,  just like  they would use  <insert any
DOS/Windoze  terminal emulator>.   When I  visited Rome  (I know  that's
Italy, but there is no big difference between these countries) I brought
my equipment, and it was never searched, although I was asked to boot-up
before entering the plane...

! Now, I see a work around if this is a problem, but would like advice on 
! this also:
! 
! If I generate a temporary PGP key, and distribute it prior to my departure,
! and then store it on the US-based server (not a good idea, but it is a 
! temporary key, and if it is not a problem in Spain, SSH and ESM would be in 
! use) then bouncing out of Spain via telnet into US-based computers to 
! process encryption/decryption, key management, etc, any encryption would 
! never actually take place on servers outside of the US. 

Why make live more difficult than it already is?

! Would this be a viable workaround? Or should I just say fuck it, and just 

I guess it  would be a viable  workaround, but I would still  go for the
international  version  of PGP.   For  once  I  could leave  some  stuff
encrypted on my system, just in case...

! disavow myself of any reason/need for PGP for the duration of my stay? If 
! this is gonna be a problem, I'll just forego anything requiring 
! encryption while I am in Spain.

Forget the  above, just use the  international version of PGP  while you
are in Europe, and reinstall the US version once you get back.

! I have no interest in smuggling crypto in, or defying international law 
! just to use PGP for personal use. If it's not allowed, I simply won't use 
! it. But, I MUST be able to bring my laptops into the country. That HAS to 
! happen.

See above.

! My Research: I tried to find these answers myself via conventioanl 
! methods, and either there was no information available, or the embassy 
! people I spoke to weren't sure. (Go figure!) So now I ask for your 
! opinions. 

Just my $0.02.

! se7en

Ciao,
Hans.
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