Senators decry feds' airborne use of cell spying devices
The FBI and Homeland Security's use of imitation cellphone sites used to intercept locations and identities of phones and other mobile devices, do not require the court's permission prior to implementation, according to a letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in December.
The letter, issued by U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, raises concerns that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security are violating the privacy of the American public in their use of technology that cell phones connect to when transmitting and receiving calls and data.
When the secretive mobile devices are turned on by law enforcement, all nearby cellphones reveal the location and identifying registration information to the agents using the devices, which are known as IMSI catchers, DRT boxes or trade names such as Stingray. The devices can be deployed in surveillance vehicles or even, according to some experts, aircraft.
At the center of concerns raised in the senators' letter is a new policy change by the FBI, which states the agency does obtain search warrants for the deployment of the technology in most cases. However, the letter lists potentially broad exceptions, including: cases that pose an imminent danger to public safety, pursuit of a fugitive, and "cases in which the technology is used in public places or other locations at which the FBI deems there is no reasonable expectation of privacy."
The last item is of most concern to privacy advocates, who've raised questions about whether the devices could be used to catalog all attendees at a political protest, religious service or any large gathering. Paste BN and Gannett newspapers and television stations across the country reported in 2013 that dozens of local and state police agencies purchased the devices and were using them to capture cellphone data in bulk, regardless of targets were under criminal investigation or not.
The senators' letter cites an article from the Wall Street Journal, noting the routine use of the "DRT boxes" by the U.S. Marshal Services aboard airplanes, from a number of metropolitan airports around the country.
Specifically, the Senators stated: "we are concerned about whether the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have adequately considered the privacy interests of other individuals who are not the targets of the interception, but whose information is nevertheless being collected when these devices are being used."
The Senators letter stated that the Senate Judiciary Committee submitted a request for response to the U.S. Attorney General and Homeland Security answer questions regarding the history of using cell-site simulators by the DOJ, DHS, and FBI; how many instances were authorized by search warrants; how many were used without first seeking any court authorizations; and what other agencies have used cell-site simulators.
It also requests details on the number of times cell-site simulators have been deployed in public areas, where the FBI deemed there was no reasonable expectation of privacy, as well as the retention of information collected by these cell-site simulators.
The technology has the ability to capture and store identifying data from tens of thousands of cellphones in a single deployment. The letter requests written response from the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security by January 30th of this year.