Cellphone surveillance by police departments

A judge in Charlotte North Carolina has unsealed around 500 court documents that detail the use of stingray used by local police in criminal cases. The records suggest that the judges did not fully understand what stingray was and how it exactly worked. There has been much secrecy by government agencies recently around the use of this technology. Prosecutors in a robbery case decided to drop key evidence rather than disclosing how stingray works. The detectives involved in the case were told not to disclose the use of this device to the judge, perhaps by the FBI or the company that develops this technology.

Little is known about this technology; it is not clear how stingray is used by law enforcement nationwide and if its usage requires a judge’s approval in all cases. Stingray is used to intercept cell tower traffic in a small area. It can be used to determine a phone’s location, listen in on phone calls and read text messages. The technology sweeps up cell data of others who are nearby to the device. According to the unsealed document, stingray was used about twice a week since 2010. Furthermore, judges rarely denied the authorization to use equipment to collect cell phone information from criminal suspects (and innocents who happen to be nearby). The documents include “boilerplate language connected to phone data” but do not specifically mention the technology, what it is capable of or how it works.

There have been other instances where federal judges attempted to reveal how these surveillance devices are used. However, the government has tried to keep the use of this devices and its information hidden from the public by silencing these judges. I think only with more public knowledge on how this technology works and how it is used by police departments nationwide, we can then be sure that this technology is not being misused. There has to be more transparency and oversight on the use of this technology. Police officers should not use it without a warrant and they should be transparent with the judges. It is difficult for this to happen if larger government agencies try to keep the technology a secret.

The company that develops these devices (Harris Corporation) has been very secretive about its capabilities and deployments, it doesn’t talk to the press. There has been leaks detailing small cities paying around $70,000 to this corporation for one of these devices. Filings with SEC show that Harris makes about $533 million per year. The corporation works with U.S and foreign governments to sell its products. Furthermore, the company forces its clients to sign non-disclosure agreements. It is unclear if these devices can also be installed on cell towers to surveil a larger area.

Source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/11/local-judge-unseals-hundreds-of-highly-secret-cell-tracking-court-records/