FBI really doesn’t want anyone to know about “stingray” use by local cops

[friendly_iconoclast]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/02/fbi-really-doesnt-want-anyone-to-know-about-stingray-use-by-local-cops/

FBI really doesn’t want anyone to know about “stingray” use by local cops
Memo: Cops must tell FBI about all public records requests on fake cell towers.

by Cyrus Farivar - Feb 10, 2015 7:46am EST


If you’ve ever filed a public records request with your local police department to learn more about how cell-site simulators are used in your community—chances are good that the FBI knows about it. And the FBI will attempt to “prevent disclosure” of such information.

Not only can these devices, commonly known as "stingrays," be used to determine a phone’s location, but they can also intercept calls and text messages. During the act of locating a phone, stingrays also sweep up information about nearby phones. Last fall, Ars reported on how a handful of cities across America are currently upgrading to new hardware that can target 4G LTE phones.

The newest revelation about the FBI comes from a June 2012 letter written by the law enforcement agency to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It was first acquired and published by the Minneapolis Star Tribune in December 2014—similar language likely exists between the FBI and other local authorities that use stingrays.

As the letter states:

In the event that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension receives a request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC 552) or an equivalent state or local law, the civil or criminal discovery process, or other judicial, legislative, or administrative process, to disclose information concerning the Harris Corporation [REDACTED] the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will immediately notify the FBI of any such request telephonically and in writing in order to allow sufficient time for the FBI to seek to prevent disclosure through appropriate channels.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/284945781.html

BCA agreed to FBI terms on secret cellphone tracking

Article by: Abby Simons
Star Tribune
December 5, 2014 - 11:02 PM

Minnesota’s top law enforcement agency agreed to terms set by the FBI to resist any attempts by the public to gain information about controversial cellphone-tracking technology, according to documents obtained by the Star Tribune.

The revelation comes after a lengthy attempt to obtain contracts and nondisclosure agreements for the FBI’s cellphone tracking devices, known as StingRay II and KingFish. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has long resisted disclosure requests from the public, news media and even the Minnesota Legislature, saying that doing so would violate trade secrets and expose investigative techniques that could be exploited by criminals. The most recent documents were released to the Star Tribune only after the Information Policy Analysis Division, which interprets the state’s open records law, determined they could not be withheld in their entirety...

...In a heavily redacted 2012 contract signed by then-Assistant BCA Superintendent David Bjerga, the agency agreed to “immediately notify the FBI” of any request for information concerning the device’s manufacturer, Florida-based Harris Corp., under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), or under judicial, administrative or legislative requests.

Any court orders directing the BCA to reveal information about Harris Corp. “will immediately be provided to the FBI in order to allow sufficient time for the FBI to intervene to protect the equipment/technology and information from disclosure and potential compromise,” the contract reads.

The aforementioned letter (in .pdf format) can be found at:

http://stmedia.startribune.com/documents/BCA+Cellular+Exploitation+Equipment.pdf

[bananas]

1. A police state using police state tactics. nt

[Baitball Blogger]

2. What I said before. We do not have privacy, regardless of what you might think.

[billhicks76]

3. Evil & Illegal

Get the word out. Sue them too.

[JDPriestly]

4. K&R. I wonder whether they could use this to help find lost or stolen phones. (Just joking.)

[Midnight Writer]

5. I don't get the outrage here

If I am in trouble and call for help with my cell phone, I would hope they would track the signal to find me. If a victim is kidnapped, I would hope their cell phone is tracked. If investigators are looking at a suspect and track his movements through his cellphone to either incriminate or clear him, I would hope that they would.

Am I missing something here? Please enlighten me.

[cuncator]

6. IMHO...

Stingray isn't needed for tracking. Cell phone location can be determined by triangulation using the towers the cell phone is in range of. In fact, I'd be willing to bet Stingray is less accurate, unless it is used with multiple units (or uses "real" cell towers to triangulate.)

The singular purpose of the unit is the blanket interception of communications without a warrant.

[quakerboy]

7. You are missing a lot

This is not the use of triangulation to track down a kidnapped person.

This is a device that essentially hacks into your phone, and every other phone within its range. It forces those phones to transmit data, and gives law enforcement access to all the phones around it. So, say your neighbor is accused of being a drug dealer. They show up with their stingray, sans warrant, most likely. They tap his phone. And your phone, and every other phone in the area. They have your text messages, your phone calls, etc.

What can they do with those? I dunno. Listen in on your intimate calls with a spouse? Use them to blackmail you if anyone they spy on happens to mention having done anything wrong. Or even not wrong, but just embarrassing or socially unacceptable. Or borrow your credit card number, if you happen to call the home shopping network. Or maybe your neighbor happens to be an abuse victim hiding from their LE spouse. Guess that's over now.

And you are not allowed to know about it, so there's no chance of accountability.

And even if you discard all the potential implications of the spying, the device, as I understand it, forces your phone to transmit more fully and stay active. Ever had your battery drain unexpectedly rapidly? There's at least a chance you were stingray's.

[Mnpaul]

8. This not about tracking

They can accomplish tracking without the use of a stingray. This is about setting up portable towers to grab whole conversations without a warrant.

[gordianot]

9. I always love the old movie gag how the police have to wait to trace the location of a phone.

They still promote this myth in the digital age. If anyone really thinks they are getting by with anything, that somehow they have to triangulate towers, or that data to and through satellites is not transparent to the owners and agencies who control those devices, you are in for a shock.