The Wall Street Journal reported today that the United States Department of Justice has been using planes equipped with devices that pose as cellular towers (called “dirtboxes”) to collect data from suspected criminals’ cell phones—and capturing data from innocent bystanders in the process.
The devices are capable of capturing data from “tens of thousands” of phones over the course of a single flight. Because most cell phones are designed to automatically connect to the tower with the strongest signal, these dirtboxes can easily fool phones into latching onto its signal.
Once a phone has connected to the dirtbox, it will send its unique identifying information to be compared to determine whether it belongs to a suspected criminal. If it does, the plane will then use the signal strength to determine the location of that individual with an accuracy of within three meters, the report says.
Newer versions of the device can go even further by jamming cell signals or pulling texts, photos, and other data from the phone.
If the phone is determined to belong to an innocent bystander, the device is supposed to ignore it, but the actual safeguards put in place to ensure that no data is collected from innocent targets is stored are unknown.
Some at the Department of Justice have questioned whether this type of surveillance is legal, noting that judges who sign warrants allowing for the location of a suspect’s phone may not understand that doing so may also involve collecting data on countless other people.
The Journal notes that even on-device encryption like Apple employs on newer iPhones isn’t enough to defeat the tactics employed by these devices.
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Damn…. time to stop taking all those nude photos of myself again. As if the regular cell towers weren’t already efficient enough.
I would’nt even care. As long as that things boosts my ultra crappy Sprint signal, they can circle one of those things around my neighborhood all day
It won’t boost your signal. If anything it may make your connectivity slightly worse. Think of these as cell stations with no back haul. You connect to them, but they don’t do anything for you. Meanwhile the signal is causing interference and possibly momentarily confusing your phone into connecting to it (at least long enough to transmit enough data to be let go).
Everybody has to buy a XPERIA Sony!!!
With the mode ” STAMINA “, when the Smartphone has faded screen,
The data 4g-3g is inactive….. ;-)
could be dangerous if these prevent someone from making a call and maybe not even legal
It doesn’t bother me at all. It’s shame about the fact it doesn’t strengthen signal though.
Will this data uploading count against my data plan¿
It’s nice to know the government is spending all this time and money to ensure its citizens have the best wireless coverage possible…. sarcasm
That might explain this ‘secret’ flight in London: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/police-refuse-deny-mystery-aircraft-3899555
Been a standard tactic for many years – back in days of analogue cellphones, let alone GSM.
Northern Ireland to catch IRA, Columbia to catch Pablo Escobar etc etc
Active capture of the individual phone allows capabilities beyond interception of calls/location etc.
‘Prooke’ – yes, in use over UK/London, again they have been for years (moved from Northern Ireland as IRA settled down and AQ stepped up).
Might be one over me as I type. Don’t care.
Does it work with helicopters also or only small planes flying higher? In my area, we get those helicopters hovering around like they are scanning for something… I thought they were using infrared or heat signature technology to look for meth labs & grow-ups but it could be this also as they grid search then hover over a specific area without any spotlight like they do during pursuits or searches.
Hovering helicopter unlikely to be involved in this.
Not that the same electronics wouldn’t work from a helo but there is a clear advantage to the light plane – basically cost and loiter time.
If you think about (e.g.) monitoring some specific person who might be meeting someone else who just had long emails with someone else in Syria then obviously you need an aircraft which can stay up for hours on end, at a reasonable fuel cost.
(Your helicopter is likely police observing some burglar hiding in a wheelie bin – using thermal imager and talking to cops on the ground so they can nick him)
How is this any different from a citizen with a scanner being able to listen in on a cellphone conversation?
The way I see it is no one should assume cell phone conversations be it voice or data transmitted wirelessly is private. With the right equipment anyone can intercept wireless communications.
The difference is that a citizen can’t arrest you and imprison you. I know, a minor set of distinctions.
This sounds like a load to be honest. Sounds like someone at WSJ that has no clue wrote this. There are so many problems with this. 1. If connecting phones the plane would have to fully act like a cell phone station, including connecting calls and forwarding data for a large amount of phones, if even just monentarily until it weeds out phones it has no interest in. Then magically it can take data off of a phone. Dear WSJ i would like propper explanation of this. I think you are so full of it.
Good for them! Keep protecting us from terrorists. Spy all you want!
As long as we agree on the definition of the word “terrorist.”
I appreciate that the government says we’re not supposed to worry about this, but the next story is about how the government says we are supposed to worry about Apple’s collection of health care data. The nice thing about Apple is that I can choose to avoid their products. Sadly, I don’t have the same option with the government.
To all those who are fine with this, please print and sign the following form”
“I, , hereby waive my rights granted under the Constitution of the United States and agree that I shall waive any claim to use such rights in defense of any activities which I engage.”
Then mail that to the various local law agencies and the DOJ. The important thing is that you are waiving these rights ONLY for yourself, and you aren’t making idiotic statements casually waiving the rights of others.
The U.s. seems to spend a lot of time and money spying on its own people !