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Before Using StingRays, Police Must Sign NDA With FBI
v3rgEz writes Advanced cell phone tracking devices known as StingRays allow police nationwide to home in on suspects and to log individuals present at a given location. But before acquiring a StingRay, state and local police must sign a nondisclosure agreement with the FBI, according to documents released via a MuckRock FOIA request. As Shawn Musgrave reports, it's an unusual setup arrangement for two public agencies to swear each other to secrecy, but such maneuvers are becoming more common.
Next, they'll be coming for your firearms.
Of course we won't arrest you for drunk driving or domestic assault Mr. FBI, just like you won't arrest us for violating civil rights or using this highfalutin' cell phone spy gizmo.
Because if they don't get a warrant, and don't tell the judge how they acquired the evidence, it's still OK, right?
"Stingrays" are more generically called "IMSI catchers". There isn't really anything terribly secret about them, except where they're used and for what purpose.
- Excerpt from the forbidden novel "1983".
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Who goes to jail? Everyone who signed the NDA?
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
They are impersonating wireless carriers which is fraud.
I read the title as "sign DNA" rather than "sign NDA". I got excited thinking about a deal signed in blood...
NT
Unless, of course, they have additional functions outside of those that have been publicly disclosed.
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
This is so frightening to think that no one can discuss what it is they are doing. This type of behavior WILL lead to secret police forces subverting the legal system; This WILL bring about a new Nazi SS, or Soviet Union KGB; This WILL be the undoing of the United States of America and the rights of the people.
Anybody involved with these secret underground forces is not to be respected nor obeyed!!!
Even when you "turn them off" they can still be turned back on by any official at a higher government level.
So if a city or municipality turns off theirs, the county or state can turn it on, and it will be turned on during high level fed visits.
Naturally, they can neither confirm nor deny this occurs.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Oh yea forget they would not need them most of the time if they got one.
No sir I dont like it.
Didn't you know, there was a mistake and they kept it running as an inside joke.
It is not the justice system, it is the "just us" system.
What stops city or state police departments from going out and buying their own? China probably makes some decent stuff by now.
Illegal, you say? I think that horse bolted from the barn a long time ago.
Have gnu, will travel.
The FCC is requiring anybody (specifically, state/local law enforcement) to sign an NDA with the FBI to purchase and/or use "Stingray"s (A proprietary name that is now being used as a catchall for the technology, like "Kleenex" for tissue). The NDA itself is classified & exempt from FOIA requests. The existence of the NDA is not, and was disclosed.
My analysis:
The FCC's NDA requirement, and the hiding of the details of that NDA, is possibly allowed by the FOIA's list of exemptions. I'm not sure which exemption they're claiming (perhaps I missed it in the article's documents), but personally I think it could be reasonable under:
Exemption 4: Information that concerns business trade secrets or other confidential commercial or financial information.
or
Exemption 6: Information that, if disclosed, would invade another individual's personal privacy.
But #6 is only because this involves technology created by a private corporation that has the ability to invade a person's privacy... But that logic would include pretty much any technology, like hearing aids. So I'd go with #4.
Government is fascinating. It is like they're playing "Cards Against Humanity", but instead of shits & giggles they're trying to skirt laws & stay in power.
"A ______ stopped the commie's FOIA request from freeing criminals."
Lessons learned from the Mob. They each have something on the other. If one goes down, they can take the other with them.
Have gnu, will travel.
An IMSI catcher is a cell tower that re-directs to another cell tower. So all traffic to and from your phone goes through it. Voice, meta data, data, email, text messages. Of course they are legally required to get a warrant before they tap your phone, but the rest is probably up for grabs. Assuming they follow the law.
If you connect to a stingray, won't the tower ID number be different? So if I only connect through whitelisted towers, I'd be safe
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Assuming they follow the law.
They've consistently played fast and loose with the Constitution; why would they feel compelled to follow some trivial little laws?
#DeleteChrome
Lol.. i got a stalker. Must be doing something right if i have added some purpose to some idiots otherwise pathetic life.
Defense attorneys need to ask any and all law enforcement offers who they depose and/or question on the stand if Stingray was used in the case. This is the best way to undermine this.
In the late 20th century, you could tell the drug dealers because they carried one-way pagers.
In 21st century, you'll be able to tell the drug dealers because they all carry one-way pagers.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I'm not questioning what an IMSI catcher does. I'm questioning whether or not a stingray has undisclosed capabilities beyond that of an IMSI catcher.
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Yes, Canada has guns, but we don't have the same culture.
There's no public/concealed carry permits. You're not allowed to simply walk around carrying unless you're a police officer etc. If you see somebody walking around with a gun, you call the cops, and - depending on the location - he/she is likely to be surrounded by red and blue lights in short order. You're allowed to own guns (after passing certain tests/checks etc) but there are some fairly strict rules about where you're allowed to be out and about with them.
In the US, it's not just gun ownership, but the number of people owning guns and toting them around in public.
Why doesn't somebody build a couple of encrypted paired bluetooth headsets and just provide end-to-end encryption across the distrusted network?
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
All you need to do is to present your signal 10x stronger. Then your base station will win - no matter what. Talk to a radio engineer if you dont grok that
It's basically how all those "FM radio car adapters" for iPods worked. Pick a frequency and hope that it's local signal is stronger than any others around you. Of course those things were pretty damned weak, so it wasn't easy to find an unused frequency. Also, if you travel more than, say, 10 miles, you had to pull over, try to find another frequency... any sort of trip required constant fiddling. Those things were terrible, since FCC regulations limited the radio power output.
They always worked great for me, but then again I lived about 60 miles past BFE when I had one, so there were many dead stations.