The answer, in most cases, is yes.
US border officials have reasserted their right to search the laptops of persons entering the US - which can be conducted without a warrant or reasonable suspicion - in the interests of national security. Meanwhile, in the UK, a 12-year old schoolboy who teachers caught distributing Al-Qaeda beheading videos to classmates via mobile phone has been branded by police as a potential extremist recruit.
Security managers should remind all travelling staff that mere possession of such videos in some countries may constitute an offence under anti-terrorism legislation and that to attempt to take computer equipment containing such into some countries may render the traveller liable to arrest.
Many companies operate a zero-tolerance policy and punish violators in the same manner as an employee caught storing or distributing pornography.
This and many other aspects of Business Travel Security are covered in the Business Travel Security Workshop, 20 October. On-line business travel security resources can be accessed at the following link:
http://www.arc-tc.com/pages/resources_publications.asp
