14 DAY TRIAL // A reputed security researcher known as Moxie Marlinspike was detained for several hours and had his laptop seized at the JFK airport on Wednesday, when he returned to the country on an international flight.
Marlinspike, who doesn't disclose his real name on the Internet, is a speaker at top security conferences and owns a software development company focused on data encryption applications for the Android platform.
His troubles began about two months ago on domestic flights when airline kiosks suddenly refused to print out boarding passes in his name.
Ticket agents had to call a DHS Secure Flight number before being able to assist him and informed him that he is probably on a federal watchlist.
Last Saturday, while waiting for a flight connection in Frankfurt in order to return home from the Black Hat security conference in Abu Dhabi, the researcher was approached by an agent from the U.S. Consulate.
The official asked him some routine questions about where he was coming from and his business there and then said that he needs to make a phone call to Washington. He returned some minutes later with more questions.
On Monday, a TSA agent escorted Marlinspike off a plane that was about to take off for the Dominican Republic. He was patted down in the walkway before being allowed back on.
However, the most serious incident occurred on Wednesday, when he returned to the country was detained for four and a half hours by two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.
During this time, a forensic investigator was asked to come in and inspect his phones and netbook computer. All of them were encrypted and Marlinspike refused to give up the password.
The devices were eventually returned to him, but the researcher doesn't trust them anymore after the feds handled them. He already changed his primary smartphone and plans to get rid of the computer too.
"At this point, the Department of Homeland Security has almost destroyed my ability to run a business with international customers," Marlinspike told CNET.
"It's impossible to travel internationally frequently when this is going to be your experience because every time you may miss your connection because you're detained, and you might lose your laptop," he explained.
The researcher has no idea why he is being targeted and the phone number a TSA supervisor gave him to find out more information led to a full voice mail box.