FBI really doesnt want anyone to know about stingray use by local cops
Memo: Cops must tell FBI about all public records requests on fake cell towers.
Feb 10, 2015
FBI says search warrants not needed to use stingrays in public places
Feds' position on decoy cell-site towers continues anti-privacy theme.
If youve ever filed a public records request with your local police department to learn more about how cell-site simulators are used in your communitychances 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 phones 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 2014similar 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.
While the FBI did not immediately respond to Ars request for comment, privacy activists were dismayed to see this language.
Its remarkable to see collusion by state and federal agencies to undermine public records requests, which are clearly aimed at keeping the public in the dark about the use of Stingray technology, Hanni Fakhoury, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Ars. After all, any truly sensitive law enforcement details could be redacted under traditional public records act law. But the notion that the federal government would work to actively block disclosure of records seems clearly to have a chilling effect on obtaining information about this controversial surveillance tool.
Staying mum
Further Reading
Cities scramble to upgrade stingray tracking as end of 2G network looms
Memo: Cops must tell FBI about all public records requests on fake cell towers.
Feb 10, 2015
FBI says search warrants not needed to use stingrays in public places
Feds' position on decoy cell-site towers continues anti-privacy theme.
If youve ever filed a public records request with your local police department to learn more about how cell-site simulators are used in your communitychances 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 phones 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 2014similar 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.
While the FBI did not immediately respond to Ars request for comment, privacy activists were dismayed to see this language.
Its remarkable to see collusion by state and federal agencies to undermine public records requests, which are clearly aimed at keeping the public in the dark about the use of Stingray technology, Hanni Fakhoury, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Ars. After all, any truly sensitive law enforcement details could be redacted under traditional public records act law. But the notion that the federal government would work to actively block disclosure of records seems clearly to have a chilling effect on obtaining information about this controversial surveillance tool.
Staying mum
Further Reading
Cities scramble to upgrade stingray tracking as end of 2G network looms
