aGameOfThrones
11-21-2014, 05:13 PM
Feds proposed the secret phone database used by local Virginia cops
ntr23
A Virginia-based law enforcement data sharing ring, which allows signatory police agencies to share and analyze seized "telephone intelligence information," was first proposed by federal prosecutors, according to new documents obtained by Ars. Federal involvement suggests that there could be more such databases in other parts of the country.
"It’s unsurprising to see the feds encouraging local law enforcement agencies to create these localized databases," Hanni Fakhoury, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Ars. "In fact, there’s a whole division within the Department of Justice that focuses on educating and advancing local law enforcement interests, the National Institute of Justice. And so I would imagine there are others."
As Ars reported last month, according to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) first published by the Center for Investigative Reporting, the police departments from Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Suffolk all participate in something called the "Hampton Roads Telephone Analysis Sharing Network," or HRTASN.
The database compiles both content copied from phones and metadata gleaned from phone usage—some obtained under the authority of a warrant, some via a court order, and some via a mere subpoena. Some state legal experts have questioned whether such an umbrella database is legal under Virginia law. Rob Poggenklass, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, told Ars that he believes the database is in violation of Virginia's Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act.
A document that Ars recently obtained under a public records request from the City of Norfolk shows that an analyst from the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia was, in fact, the creator of HRTASN. That document, which appears to date from 2011, is called "A Proposal for Creation of the Hampton Roads Telephone Intercept Sharing Network."
The 13-page presentation was authored by Paul Swartz, an investigative analyst. His LinkedIn profile indicates that, prior to joining the federal government, Swartz worked for over 20 years at the Newport News Police Department, retiring at the rank of sergeant. Swartz initially did not return Ars’ requests for comment, but then referred Ars to Joshua Stueve, a US Attorney's Office spokesman, who also did not respond to requests for comment.
Welcome to the “Wire Room”
The document explains just how revelatory data obtained about and from a mobile phone can be. Not surprisingly, law enforcement can identify "family members," "legitimate business associates," and "criminal associates" by looking at phone records. By using "cell-site monitoring," better known as a stingray, law enforcement can also glean "methods of operation."
The proposal also indicates that pen registers, which can record phone numbers dialed and received and are easily obtained through a court order, may not be quite as pervasive as some critics have feared—due to expense.
Getting a judge to sign off on a pen register is a far lower standard than being forced to show probable cause for a search warrant or wiretap order. Such a wiretap order requires law enforcement to not only specifically describe the alleged crimes but also to demonstrate that all other means of investigation had been exhausted or would fail if they were attempted.
In the pre-cellphone era, a "pen register, trap and trace order," which is granted by a judge, allowed law enforcement to obtain someone's calling metadata in near real-time. Now, that same data can also be gathered directly by the cops themselves through the use of a cell-site simulator, also known as a stingray. Stingrays, however, also can be used to intercept calls and text messages—and the device doesn't just work against one target phone but also against other phones that may happen to be nearby.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/11/feds-proposed-the-secret-phone-database-used-by-local-virginia-cops/
ntr23
A Virginia-based law enforcement data sharing ring, which allows signatory police agencies to share and analyze seized "telephone intelligence information," was first proposed by federal prosecutors, according to new documents obtained by Ars. Federal involvement suggests that there could be more such databases in other parts of the country.
"It’s unsurprising to see the feds encouraging local law enforcement agencies to create these localized databases," Hanni Fakhoury, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Ars. "In fact, there’s a whole division within the Department of Justice that focuses on educating and advancing local law enforcement interests, the National Institute of Justice. And so I would imagine there are others."
As Ars reported last month, according to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) first published by the Center for Investigative Reporting, the police departments from Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Suffolk all participate in something called the "Hampton Roads Telephone Analysis Sharing Network," or HRTASN.
The database compiles both content copied from phones and metadata gleaned from phone usage—some obtained under the authority of a warrant, some via a court order, and some via a mere subpoena. Some state legal experts have questioned whether such an umbrella database is legal under Virginia law. Rob Poggenklass, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, told Ars that he believes the database is in violation of Virginia's Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act.
A document that Ars recently obtained under a public records request from the City of Norfolk shows that an analyst from the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia was, in fact, the creator of HRTASN. That document, which appears to date from 2011, is called "A Proposal for Creation of the Hampton Roads Telephone Intercept Sharing Network."
The 13-page presentation was authored by Paul Swartz, an investigative analyst. His LinkedIn profile indicates that, prior to joining the federal government, Swartz worked for over 20 years at the Newport News Police Department, retiring at the rank of sergeant. Swartz initially did not return Ars’ requests for comment, but then referred Ars to Joshua Stueve, a US Attorney's Office spokesman, who also did not respond to requests for comment.
Welcome to the “Wire Room”
The document explains just how revelatory data obtained about and from a mobile phone can be. Not surprisingly, law enforcement can identify "family members," "legitimate business associates," and "criminal associates" by looking at phone records. By using "cell-site monitoring," better known as a stingray, law enforcement can also glean "methods of operation."
The proposal also indicates that pen registers, which can record phone numbers dialed and received and are easily obtained through a court order, may not be quite as pervasive as some critics have feared—due to expense.
Getting a judge to sign off on a pen register is a far lower standard than being forced to show probable cause for a search warrant or wiretap order. Such a wiretap order requires law enforcement to not only specifically describe the alleged crimes but also to demonstrate that all other means of investigation had been exhausted or would fail if they were attempted.
In the pre-cellphone era, a "pen register, trap and trace order," which is granted by a judge, allowed law enforcement to obtain someone's calling metadata in near real-time. Now, that same data can also be gathered directly by the cops themselves through the use of a cell-site simulator, also known as a stingray. Stingrays, however, also can be used to intercept calls and text messages—and the device doesn't just work against one target phone but also against other phones that may happen to be nearby.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/11/feds-proposed-the-secret-phone-database-used-by-local-virginia-cops/