What Travelers Should Know About New Restrictions on Devices

© Murad Sezer/Reuters A security official screened parcels at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport.
Who is affected, why are larger devices banned, and what should you do? Here is what we know so far.
Who is affected?
The new policy affects people flying to the United States from airports in Amman, Jordan; Cairo; Istanbul; Jidda and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The United Kingdom also announced a similar ban on devices larger than smartphones on certain airlines. The policy applies to flights coming into the U.K. from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.
For business travelers on those airlines, the ban may disrupt productivity.
“This is going to hurt all the serious businesspeople and academics,” said Osama Sharshar, an Egyptian lawmaker and journalist who frequently travels to the United States. “They are not going there to play and don’t have time to waste.”
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Do these devices pose a greater threat than cellphones?
Only physically, not technologically.
A computer or a tablet is larger than a smartphone, which would theoretically provide more room for terrorists to cram in components like bomb parts or weapons, said Bill Marczak, a senior fellow at the Citizen Lab, a research group that follows technology and policy. Multiple terrorists could then each take a computer on a plane containing an explosive component and, hypothetically, put it together in the cabin, he said.
Yet a smartphone may also pose threats. As Samsung demonstrated last year with its Galaxy Note 7, smartphones — and anything with a lithium-ion battery — are capable of exploding and causing safety hazards.
Technologically, a smartphone is a miniature computer that is just as powerful as a laptop. There is also a risk that a terrorist could use a smartphone to remotely detonate a bomb that is hidden inside a computer checked in as cargo, said Nick Feamster, a computer science professor at Princeton University.
So why ban computers and tablets?
Other than preventing terrorists from smuggling components onto planes, the device ban may create additional surveillance opportunities. It is common for airport security officials to search checked luggage. In theory, if a computer is checked, airport officials can do more thorough searches, including a data frisk.
“Who, if anyone, takes control of your device while it’s not in your sight or possession?” Professor Feamster said. “A search of your device is not outside the realm of possibility.”
What should I do?
If you are flying on an affected airline and concerned about your privacy, consider the recommendations outlined in our guide to protecting your data while crossing the border.
For one, you could encrypt your files with an app like BitLocker or FileVault. That way, if someone did try to gain access to your data, a passphrase would be needed to decrypt the files, Mr. Marczak of the Citizen Lab said.
In addition, travelers could seal laptops in a tamper-evident bag, Mr. Marczak said. Once you reach your destination, you can see if anyone tampered with the laptop by inserting a physical surveillance device into it, for example.
You could also consider traveling with an inexpensive computer that lacks any of your sensitive data, Professor Feamster added. And you could back up your data to the cloud and purge it from the inexpensive computer before checking it in with your luggage.
If he were traveling to those countries now, Mr. Feamster said, “I wouldn’t even bother taking my main laptop. I’d take my clean laptop that doesn’t have any data on it.”