I doubt it. Businesses aren’t going to stop traveling. They might have more video conferences, but I view a trend toward more video conferencing as inevitable, regardless of what TSA does or doesn’t do.
Ughhhh, I have 7" kindle tablet and a long zoom point and shoot camera that is SLIGHTLY thicker than a cell phone. To say that keeping those out of the passenger area increases safety is madness. I just bought that camera to enjoy during upcoming retirement travels–like hell I’m leaving that behind!!
No tablets. No laptops. But you will be able to bring this:
http://bgr.com/2017/01/16/ideal-conceal-iphone-like-gun/
Yikes!
I heard that whats his name from Homeland Security or the TSA is flying to Brussels next week to discuss this with the EU people. Let HIM check his laptop!
People traveling on business usually prefer not to have checked luggage at all. Just another headache in the works 
It’s always funny when those without access to the classified reporting accuse those who do of having little knowledge.
Personally I’d like to hear more about the risk of having all the devices with lithium ion batteries in cargo hold. Should be something a solid risk assessment exercise would shed light on. But this is definitely a case of which tradeoffs to make, possibly pitting security against safety.
I thought the concern with the lithium batteries was from spares or cargo shipments, not so much from installed batteries. I’d love to be reassured of this by anyone out there with an understanding of the issue. Of course, with exploding Galaxy 7’s, etc I’m also willing to believe there is a risk needing clear assessment such as @JustGraduate suggests. Any posters out there with more knowledge in the area?
I was chatting with a fellow air traveler as we waited to board a 14 hour overseas flight about 6 months ago. Despite the warnings, publicity, airline baggage restrictions, etc. she had not realized that she couldn’t send her spare lithium batteries in checked bags. It was caught only when she was specifically asked if she had any packed lithium batteries as her bags were being tagged as checked luggage. It does make me wonder what is going on, both with the airlines and with other travelers.
Yes, I’ve checked lithium ion batteries for medical equipment in the past, without realizing I always had to hand carry ALL of those batteries. I normally hand carry 5 of them and they each weigh about 1.5 pounds. They do get warm while in use but fortunately I’ve never had any problems with them in the decade I’ve used such equipment and batteries.
I have a litihium ion factory (R/D centre) near home and almost immediately this kind of issues was raised. Essentially, they can explode /burst into flames ala samsung7 when in certain environments, so that until the travel ban checking laptops into the cargo hold was advised against as 'dangerous ’ - especially since it’s a type if fire that’s hard to out out.
Cases of TSA employees stealing from luggage:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/13/us/airport-luggage-theft/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/07/02/tsa-damage-tops-3m/29353815/
Considering the above, it’s very understandable why airline passengers, especially business travelers aren’t eager to check in their laptops or other valuables.
It only needs to happen once for the impact to be felt not only by the individual theft victim, but also by his/her employer. Especially if the laptop/tablet is firm/employer property with proprietary firm/employer data.
Yes, our neighbor leaves for Paris tomorrow and encrypted his hard drive, “just in case.” He really needs his data and assumes he will have to check his laptop when returning to HNL.
“our neighbor leaves for Paris tomorrow and encrypted his hard drive, ‘just in case.’”
My company requires all hard drives to be encrypted always.
Backing up the hard drive before trips, and occasionally, is a really good idea even if none of us are ever required to put a laptop in checked luggage. I have seen (rarely) laptops dropped, including during business trips (think jet-lag, rushing, …). Of course most companies do this automatically on a periodic basis, but many personal computers don’t get backed up regularly.
Which reminds me, I have a couple of hard drives to back up…
^what do you do when you have no idea how to “encrypt your hard drive”?
Can you back up professional data on a USB drive and how do you know the secret stuff is safe on a USB drive?
“Can you back up professional data on a USB drive and how do you know the secret stuff is safe on a USB drive?”
Encryption and backup are for entirely different reasons. Encryption is to keep anyone else from getting your data (eg, if the laptop is stolen). Backup is so that you don’t lose it yourself.
If you put secret stuff on a USB then it is still on your laptop, and could be exposed if the laptop is stolen, or if a virus on your laptop gives hackers access to your laptop, or if you lose the USB. If you then delete it from the laptop then you better not lose the USB (or have another one left at home).
For my personal computers I have one with the “secret stuff” (such as tax information) that I always leave at home in a safe place (and we live in a very safe neighborhood). The personal computer that I take with me has nothing confidential on it at all.
I wouldn’t do anything as drastic as encrypting a work computer without first consulting with the IT folks at your company. However, I strongly suspect that the encryption that many companies use is strong enough to stop an average hacker, but probably not strong enough to stop a very skilled very determined hacker from getting the data, if they have access to the laptop and if they have a lot of time to try to break into it.
Encrypting a personal computer (eg, if a person is a consultant and has to put confidential work stuff on a personal computer) is beyond my skill set.
Commercial disk encryption software is common and made by all sorts of very well known companies. My old company used Symantec software for disk encryption.
I’m impressed by the emirates process in the linked video. Professional, well-staffed, careful attention to detail, and a concern for the safety of the customer’s items.
Anyone want to bet most US carrriers will be the exact opposite? I envision something along the lines of “Everybody chuck your stuff in this box and it’ll be in some random spot at your destination which we don’t know where exactly but you can ask around when you land and when you find it you can all root around in it for your stuff. And if you ask any questions I’m calling the cops and kicking you off the flight without a refund.”
Just kidding. A little. On another subject - if smartphones are allowed, how are they telling the difference between a 7" tablet and a big phone/phablet like a Note? Sorry, but I don’t see how a puny little Kindle is a bigger threat than a Galaxy Note or iPhone plus.
THANK YOU. I really don’t know how it works.
Can they require I provide them the encryption key?
Are they allowed to check, take, or delete files?
ITA on the US carrier situation. I’m going to try and avoid flying in the foreseable future, but if it can’t be avoided I will try to be prepared.
My work laptop is encrypted and we are only allowed to used encrypted flash drives. Until the overseas ban we were not allowed to check our laptops. My company had to make a quick reversal when the laptop ban was initiated, we have a lot of employees who travel overseas and to the middle east. And it stinks for them not being able to bring a personal laptop/device on board to watch movies/read books during those long flights.
“My work laptop is encrypted and we are only allowed to used encrypted flash drives.”
At one of my clients, if you try to use a flash with one of their computers, that flash gets auto encrypted. You can’t use it with any other computer unless you are given a special access code. It is a PIA and hardly a security panacea - they can still email me said files to my google mail. 