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Have you ever been asked for your laptop password at airport security? Is this a thing?

I was traveling domestically in Japan and security asked for laptop password. This obviously set off red flags immediately, especially considering I didn’t have a laptop with me. If I did, I would’ve denied them access without question but it’s strange that they even asked me. It wasn’t even customs… just regular ol’ security screening.

Also, looking around, I didn’t see any manual inspections of any other laptops around me. It’s as if I was singled out.

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Discussion

Derek Ross 3mo ago

i have never been asked, but i would not give my password.

my password are part of company's trade secrets. Ross Technology Services will holds passwords as confidential information becuse we're stupid and use the same password for every website and application. therefore we cannot in good faith provide it. thank you for understanding.

HoloKat 3mo ago

Yeah absolutely same - I’d never share anything, don’t care who asked. Just odd that they’d ask.

rift 2mo ago

You can really tell if you have been single out .

hasky 3mo ago

Would you still not give up your password if they hold you in customs until you give up and you have important speech to attend as you are the speakers ? Would you give up ?

negr0 3mo ago

Nunca me pasó ni debería pasar pero que miedo si algún día me toca 🤔

Jacob | Five Eye Tea 3mo ago

I know that security agencies sometimes ask for passwords or try to convince you to hook your phone up to their device. If you travel often, you might want to have a secondary phone that doesn't have any sensitive information on it.

You can (and should) also fully power off your phone when going through security because that'd make it insanely inconvenient for them to waste their time trying to get into your phone since the encryption only fully protects the device when it's powered off.

HoloKat 3mo ago

I would never unlock anything for any security.

Jacob | Five Eye Tea 3mo ago

Good! But if you're ever pressured to do so, powering it off definitely makes it harder for them to try to force their way in. Also know that in the US, police technically don't need a warrant to unlock a device secured by biometrics, so if you use fingerprint/face scan to unlock your phone, it's a possibility that you could be forced to do so.

HoloKat 3mo ago

I disable biometric screen lock precisely for this reason.

Jacob | Five Eye Tea 3mo ago

Nice, seems you have a great grasp on your digital rights! 😎

hasky 3mo ago

Is this something to do with security in Japan asked for your password to your laptop

HoloKat 3mo ago

My flight was domestic so I didn’t feel the need for a secondary phone. International id def use a burner with nothing on it

hasky 3mo ago

I have a good experienced buying esims with bitrefill ( use bitcoin ) , it’s so easy to obtained , just go to their websites and pay with your bitcoin or lighting address and in matter of minutes you’ll be able to use data local .

It’s bypass the local authority to forced you buy their local SIM card .

In some

Country your mobile won’t work as the authority forces you to registered your device to be able to use data .

BItrefill is the solutions .

Uno 3mo ago

This is very very strange, I would 100% say no.

Leurico8 3mo ago

Do you have any idea of what would be the consequences of denying it?

Anhern Sarsalor [IQ: 102] 3mo ago

99% of the time nothing. The other 1%, your flight gets denied and you may get detained for a bit, your device may also be taken into custody. But under no circumstances can they force you to reveal passwords, or even unlock the device for them.

Leurico8 3mo ago

Good to know. Thanks!

HoloKat 3mo ago

I don’t know.. maybe hassle me for a while? Deny flight? Who knows

Leurico8 3mo ago

Based on Anhern response nothing too dramatic. Which is good to know. By the way, it is weird as fuck indeed they ask you that when you didnt even had a laptop.

Justin_Tokyo 3mo ago

Flying on/off from Tokyo to Kobe, Kumamoto or Hokkaido and I've never heard of such a thing.

WTF?

HoloKat 3mo ago

Exactly… wtf

Anhern Sarsalor [IQ: 102] 3mo ago

They are allowed to do it, just tell them that you will only CONSIDER doing it if they put it in writing, in Japan you **always** have a right to refuse it (but this may mean you get thrown out of your flight)

If they insist ask for the badge number of the officer and later submit a formal complaint

Lady Mae - Growth Teacher 3mo ago

I'd be skeptic about it. If immigration really want to scan your stuff, they can do it without your password. So, I'd be cautious of anyone asking for your password.

HoloKat 3mo ago

Cannot scan an encrypted drive.

Lady Mae - Growth Teacher 3mo ago

check former CIA Andrew Bustamente mentioned it in his interview at the Diary of the CEO. They have the tools to do it and can clone it too.

HoloKat 3mo ago

Clone yes but not break encryption.

Lady Mae - Growth Teacher 3mo ago

If you are a person of interest, it is only a matter of time to break encryption. It may make it difficult to break it but possible. There is no 100% privacy and security. Did you watch the video I mentioned?

Pixel Survivor 3mo ago

They never said what they were trying to break. If it's disk encryption and you're forced to give up the key, the courts already decided you can be compelled to provide it. If it's end-to-end, the feds have been fighting to break that for years. If they can clone the drive without you knowing, that's game over for any non-quantum encryption. But they can't force you to remember a password you don't have. So it's less about "can they break it" and more about what they already have access to without your cooperation. But honestly, most of us aren't that interesting. They go for the low-hanging fruit first. For the rest, it's just a matter of time and budget. Which is why I prefer the Lightning Network for my own transactions. It's not just private; it's cheap, fast, and the fees are fractions of a cent.

Lady Mae - Growth Teacher 3mo ago

How did you find the video with Bustamente and with his wife?

HoloKat 3mo ago

Guy seems like a grifter. Major red flags. Sells his course in the first half of the interview and provides no details of anything other than the things you can read in persuasion books - which everyone knows by now.

Lady Mae - Growth Teacher 3mo ago

that is a fair observation. why I refer his video because I can relate from it. My former work is in cybersec. We've used tools to crackdown passwords in mins. That is not even sophisticated tools. I am aware that intelligence institution spent billions in tech so that says everything. ☺️

beejay 3mo ago

Singled out, or random? I fkn hate all govts so much I wouldn't put it past them, but random is likely more of a policy where they literally just have to ask someone once every few hours or something

YurkshireLad 3mo ago

I could see this happening in the US, but Japan? Wow.

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chancellor 3mo ago

You must not be from the US if you think they would ask this question in the US. I can assure you they would definitely not ask anyone that unless they were being detained and/or arrested for suspicious activity or committing a crime.

scottie 3mo ago

Never heard of or experienced this in Japan. My first thought is they weren’t actually security. Did they ask in Japanese or English? Even stranger is you said you didn’t even have a laptop.

HoloKat 3mo ago

Def were security and asked me in English.

scottie 3mo ago

Can’t find anything definite, but apparently New Zealand has a law that requires you to submit passwords or pins or receive a fine. Seems to be unique in the fine aspect, but perhaps other countries would just refuse entry?? What is strange is that it was domestic travel.

daniele 3mo ago

Random ask without knowing if you actually have a laptop? They smell like fraudsters, but they should be quite brave to wear a fake security uniform in an airport.

Or they were testing some theory and gatterimg data.

HoloKat 3mo ago

They were definitely security. I saw them standing there the entire time getting people through.

daniele 3mo ago

Weird!

youngMoney 3mo ago

Never heard of that but I would say no

Sketchy af

n 3mo ago

don't trust, verify

https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUD150R50V10C25A9000000/

Wonteet Zebugs 3mo ago

I don't know if they can require it in Japan. They can require it in the US, in Canada, in the UK, in Australia, and many others.

In Canada, I believe they would just seize the device if you don't give them the password. In the UK and in Australia, I believe they send you to jail...

Conclusion : no electronic device when flying.

By the way, do you know if you can opt-out of the body scanner in Japanese airports? I believe you can in Europe, Canada and in the US. You can choose to get a pat-down instead. But I don't know about Japan. Any thoughts?

rift 3mo ago

Those inhuman questioned at first place . Thats our whole identity . Just like your smartphone where you put all your wallet.

Someone know your password then they control your assets .

Such a idiot questioned and violates privacy of human right

rift 2mo ago

That’s the litmus test