Police keep quiet about cell-tracking technology

guest · Oct 24, 2018

Why does one California county sheriff have the highest rate of stingray use?
San Bernardino County denies EFF's request to see 6 stingray warrant applications
October 24, 2018
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...agency-wont-give-up-stingray-related-records/

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has sued the San Bernardino County sheriff over what the advocacy group says is a failure of the law enforcement agency to adequately release public records relating to its use of cell-site simulators, or "stingrays."

The lawsuit, Electronic Frontier Foundation v. County of San Bernardino et al., which was filed in county court on Tuesday, explains how a 2015 state law requires that law enforcement agencies in most cases seek a warrant to use the surveillance devices.
Prior to the law's passage, Ars reported that since the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department (SBSD) acquired a stingray in late 2012, the agency has used it 303 times between January 1, 2014 and May 7, 2015, all without seeking a warrant.

However, the county denied the request, claiming that the EFF’s request was not specific enough and that the records were exempt under a section of the California Public Records Act that allows agencies to withhold "investigatory" files.
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Soft Life · Oct 25, 2018

You can use Signal. It's a program to encrypt your messages and phone calls for free and its open source. I suppose they would hate that. But only people using Signal can be encrypted while talking. It's great.

Also instead of handing out your phone number IF ASKED get a google voice number if you have a android and hand that out. never give out your real number to whomever you don't want. But when they call it you answer. Win win.

guest · Apr 2, 2020

Appeals Court Tells Baltimore PD To Start Coughing Up Information About Its Cell Site Simulators
April 1, 2020
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/2...-information-about-cell-site-simulators.shtml

The Baltimore Police Department was an enthusiastic early adopter of cell site simulator technology. In 2015, a Baltimore detective admitted the department had deployed its collection of cell tower spoofers 4,300 times since 2007.

The best estimate on how many of those 4,300 deployments ever showed up in court documents remains near zero. The Baltimore PD hid its deployments behind pen register orders, ensuring judges and defendants never knew the departments was using cell site simulators to track down suspects.
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The Appeals Courts says there's not enough on the record to reach a conclusion about the Constitutionality of this cell site simulator deployment. So, it's handing it back to the lower court with a long list of questions that need to be answered before a decision can be reached. [...]
It may be able to keep some of this out of the public hand's with sealed filings but it can't keep all of this buried. It may decide it's time to settle. I hope it doesn't. This info should have been made public years ago. The PD spent years hiding this from everyone. It's time to open the books.
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hawki · Jun 10, 2020

"Multiple US agencies have purchased this mysterious mobile eavesdropping device...

Multiple US federal agencies have obtained a mysterious new eavesdropping device thought to be designed to monitor 4G-enabled mobile phones.

Very little is known about the ‘Crossbow’ device, other than it iterates on the Stingray ISMI-catchers manufactured by Harris, used to trace location data and listen in on phone calls..."

https://global.techradar.com/en-za/...d-this-mysterious-mobile-eavesdropping-device

guest · Jun 19, 2020

California Privacy Advocates Sue Vallejo Over Cell-Site Simulator
June 18, 2020
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/...dvocates-sue-vallejo-over-cell-site-simulator

The Vallejo Police Department was warned: by rushing to purchase a cell-site simulator without first crafting a use policy, the agency side-stepped its legal duty to transparency. Now, Oakland Privacy has filed a first-of-its-kind suit to ensure the public has a say in how this controversial surveillance technology is deployed in their communities.

The complaint alleges the Vallejo Police Department violated SB 741 (California Government Code § 53166) by failing to comply with the requirement that the City Council approve a usage policy for the cell-site simulator before it is acquired and operated.
Instead of adopting or reviewing a privacy policy before authorizing the purchase, the City Council simply authorized the chief of police to create a privacy policy behind closed doors, without public participation as required by the law.
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guest · Aug 5, 2020

There’s a new open-source project to detect cellphone-snooping technology
August 5, 2020
https://www.cyberscoop.com/imsi-catchers-eff-black-hat-cooper-quintin/

The technology, sometimes referred to as a Stingray, spoofs a cellular tower, tricking your phone into revealing its location. From there, data-stealing attacks on the phone are possible. Police and spies use the gear for surveillance.

At Standing Rock, Quintin took out his software-defined radio, scanning for abnormal signals, and opened up an Android app known for spotting IMSI catchers. He didn’t get any hits.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” said Quintin, a security researcher at the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Nearly four years later, he has a better idea of what he’s doing. This week, Quintin and an EFF colleague who goes by Yomna are releasing an open-source project they designed to track IMSI catchers running on 4G networks.
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The Crocodile Hunter, as the software and hardware kit is called, includes code that measures an area’s cellular network, and an application programming interface that gathers data and shares it with other researchers.

“None of the previous IMSI catcher detector apps really do the job anymore,” Quintin said in a video recording to be shown Thursday at the DEF CON virtual hacking conference.
The goal is to hone the Crocodile Hunter’s accuracy over time to more clearly map where mobile-surveillance devices are deployed.

If the tech works, it should get plenty of hits. Cell-site simulators have long been popular with both local cops and federal law enforcement agencies.
There’s also the chance that the Crocodile Hunter will stumble upon an espionage operation.
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guest · Oct 5, 2020

mood said: ↑

California Privacy Advocates Sue Vallejo Over Cell-Site Simulator
June 18, 2020
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/...dvocates-sue-vallejo-over-cell-site-simulator
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Judge Upends Vallejo’s Use of a Stingray
October 2, 2020
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/10/judge-upends-vallejos-use-stingray

Cops in Vallejo have put their controversial cell-phone surveillance tool back in the box, after a judge released a tentative ruling (which the judge might or might not later finalize or amend) that they'd acquired it in violation of state law.
According to the tentative ruling (again, it is not final), police must acquire from Vallejo City council a “resolution or ordinance authorizing a specific usage and privacy policy regarding that technology and meeting the requirements” of the state statute.
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Police claim that cell-site simulators are a valuable tool in fighting terrorism and crime--but the truth is police often use them to target low-level infractions.
For example, Maryland police deployed a stingray to collect information on the customers of a pizza shop in an attempt to find the thief that absconded with around $50 worth of chicken wings and subs.

We applaud this tentative ruling as a sign that protective CCOPS ordinances can prevent police from acquiring and using invasive technology without any oversight or accountability. And we applaud Oakland Privacy for bringing this case.
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