Device Access By Law Enforcement

Law enforcement agencies in the US operate under a set of rules which limit the situations in which they can legally access information on personal devices.  This is a fairly short list, but many professionals today are in at least one of these device access situations several times in their lifetime.

Warrant

The best known, and usually most controlled, situation is if the law enforcement agent has a warrant.  This formal approval from a court of law is society’s way of formally reducing one’s right to privacy and usually has some specific limitations based on the nature of information or evidence which was presented as part of the request for the warrant.

Consent for Device Access

Another, often misunderstood, situation is when one gives consent.  I’m not comparing law enforcement to vampires, but I think there is a long standing mythos about inviting the undead into your home.  You forgo certain rights when you invite law enforcement into your home and the same applies to your mobile devices.  You give away some of your expectations of privacy when you give permission for device access.

Arrest

If arrested, officers can confiscate anything in your possession.  This includes your phone and other digital devices.  They will still legally need a warrant, however, to go beyond a physical search of devices to retrieve data based on a 2014 ruling by the US Supreme Court.

Threat to Evidence

Law enforcement can bypass the need for a warrant to seize your device.  Legally, they are required to demonstrate a reasonable level of proof that the device contained evidence and that evidence on the device was at “imminent risk” of destruction.  This usually applies when evidence on a device could be used to convict the person holding the device, though extensive court action may be required to decide the finer points of a situation.

Seizure of your device may not always lead to harvesting information on the device, but the potential is certainly there once law enforcement has reason to seize it in the first place.  It stands to reason that when law enforcement believes a device contains evidence, they will go through the process needed to preserve and eventually harvest that potential evidence.

Borders

Have you ever used an airport, even if you never crossed a US border?  If so, you and your devices were automatically subject to search without any need for a warrant or indication that you have done anything illegal.  This is because all airports are considered borders.  Under current interpretation, border crossing security can extend to demanding your password, though this is being disputed by the ACLU and others.  Even before the current broad interpretation was put in place, border security was able to take fingerprints and use them to unlock your device if so equipped.