San Bernardino County Sheriff deployed Stingray cell-site spoofing gear hundreds of times without warrant

[steven36]

Law enforcement at all levels, be it federal, state, county, or local, has access to some pretty impressive technology to aid in apprehending suspects through the course of an investigation.

One of those technological wonders is a tool that does not make the news that often, it is called the Stingray. The Stingray is manufactured by Harris Corporation, a long time manufacturer of industrial, military, and commercial communications equipment.

In the right hands, the Stingray can prove invaluable. It works by mimicking a cell site, allowing investigators to intercept phone calls and text messages. Law enforcement wants the Stingray to stay off the radar of most folks, but the technology has come under scrutiny about potential violations of privacy and constitutionality of what amounts to unwarranted search of devices whose data is captured in the same electronic net.

Many law enforcement entities, including the FBI, have stated they endeavor to preserve privacy rights by ensuring non-targeted data is deleted from the Stingray. Recently, TV New 10 out of Sacramento did some investigative reporting about the use of this equipment throughout California. No scandals broke as a result of any discovered misuse of the devices, but that is the biggest concern among privacy advocates, including the dragnet nature of an electronic “catch all” system like the Stingray.

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​Washington state just passed legislation requiring a search warrant to put a Stingray into use. In California, the legislation is still pending, but for now, law enforcement personnel put the Stingray to work through a “pen/trap order,” formally known as a pen register and trap and trace order. Unlike requests for a search warrant, pen/trap orders are not specific, and the recorded applications are sealed, even after an investigation is closed.

Now Ars Technica submitted a number of public records requests to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department (SBSD). Among the responses from county lawyers were “templates” for pen/trap orders which were categorized as search warrant applications. Since the latter part of 2012, SBSD has used the Stingray more than 300 times between January 2014 and May 2015, ostensibly without a warrant. During the course of an arrest however, the Supreme Court has ruled a warrant is required to search a cell phone.

Even more interesting is that the pen/trap orders fall under federal statues, not California state law. Some might say that is not a big deal, but the California State Attorney General issued guidance in 2003 that state law enforcement cannot use federal law to do an run-around state laws which have stronger privacy protections. Sheriff’s departments are not state agencies though.

As much as law enforcement agencies would like to see Stingray stay in the shadows so they can do their work. The whole point of a search warrant is that is ensures proper oversight of data/material collected as guided and authorized by a judge. One could easily make the argument that pen/trap orders provide no such oversight, and unfettered use of Stingray equipment could prove to become as much a liability in the legal process as it is an asset in the investigative process.

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​Source

[Enigmatism]

Not often reported indeed, infowars was one of the first to bring this nasty little tool to light. I forgot however, Infowars lies all the time no matter what...according to some conspiracy theorists anyways.

Either way you slice it, Stingray does violate privacy and the more it is out there and known, the more it can be properly maintained...or gotten rid of all together.

Published on Jun 6, 2014

[CODYQX4]

If the carriers weren't the long arm of phone surveillance, they'd just encrypt the signal in a way that it wasn't decrypted until well after the tower was done with it, and authenticate better, but it's too late as the cellular standards designed it to be this way.

[dMog]

@enigmatism.... not all the stuff you call sinister is used for nefarious purposes,,,if infowars is all over this like shit on stick then i would have to say it is a certainty that you are all uptight over yet one more chicken little the sky is falling story started bt good ole elex in order to get more cash in his bank account form the gullible fans he has like you are so wanting to be... it is not like you can prove these things are filling the air every single day going after hundred and hundreds(or as you claim millions) of innocent people every single hour is it...again you are all about the conspiracy of things and really you got no proof as usual...every time these things have been used a judge has to sign off on it if i remember correct..and in case you missed my point...alex jones is full of bull poop,,,,,always has and always will be full of it...and yet you fall for everything he ever says like the obedient sheep he has groomed you to be,,and last time i checked America is NOT the police state you and Alex claim it to be because any evidence gathered without a proper warrant will be deemed to be inadmissible in any court and any other evidence gathered because of the illegal evidence will be not be allowed to be presented as evidence either as it will be deemed tainted by the illegal eavesdropping

[Enigmatism]

@enigmatism.... not all the stuff you call sinister is used for nefarious purposes,,,if infowars is all over this like shit on stick then i would have to say it is a certainty that you are all uptight over yet one more chicken little the sky is falling story started bt good ole elex in order to get more cash in his bank account form the gullible fans he has like you are so wanting to be... it is not like you can prove these things are filling the air every single day going after hundred and hundreds(or as you claim millions) of innocent people every single hour is it...again you are all about the conspiracy of things and really you got no proof as usual...every time these things have been used a judge has to sign off on it if i remember correct..and in case you missed my point...alex jones is full of bull poop,,,,,always has and always will be full of it...and yet you fall for everything he ever says like the obedient sheep he has groomed you to be,,and last time i checked America is NOT the police state you and Alex claim it to be because any evidence gathered without a proper warrant will be deemed to be inadmissible in any court and any other evidence gathered because of the illegal evidence will be not be allowed to be presented as evidence either as it will be deemed tainted by the illegal eavesdropping

Other people are now reporting on stuff that I had been made aware of VIA Infowars, this doesn't make me nor Alex bad and wrong, it simply verifies the lagitamcy of it's truth from when I chose to hear it and consider it's possibility. I don't want to judge you but just go find out for yourself. I got the feeling you really haven't given his show a fair shot and for some reason, some sort of personal vendeta (call it what you will). Give it about a month, monitor it, see if what he says is true by doing some easy searching online, see if things add up or not. I don't know if your religious but if you are, pray about it. I really do feel you have the wrong perspective on the guy.

Things can get better but we can't be so afraid of it that we deny it, that's not the best approach.

Basic info on Stingray: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_phone_tracker

[dMog]

alex jones is charlaton masquerading as a freedom fighter...he lies cheats and does other stupid stuff and you think him of some sort of demigod...he all about filling his personal bank account from people like you and has never done anything but stretch the truth or right out made shit up to make people like you think the world is coming to an end...and again ...all for his personal profit ...what little truth he does report on is so bastardized that it becomes a joke to intelligent people who are easily able to see right through his bull [email protected] not be so gullible ...and again why does info wars NEVER report on the REAL shit Putin is doing or isis or the likes of them..instead he wastes too time making shit up to please people like you and your appetite for this new world order you always have a hard on about

[Enigmatism]

alex jones is charlaton masquerading as a freedom fighter...he lies cheats and does other stupid stuff and you think him of some sort of demigod...he all about filling his personal bank account from people like you and has never done anything but stretch the truth or right out made shit up to make people like you think the world is coming to an end...and again ...all for his personal profit ...what little truth he does report on is so bastardized that it becomes a joke to intelligent people who are easily able to see right through his bull [email protected] not be so gullible ...and again why does info wars NEVER report on the REAL shit Putin is doing or isis or the likes of them..instead he wastes too time making shit up to please people like you and your appetite for this new world order you always have a hard on about

It seems as though you judge a book by it's cover. Coming across as crude and blunt is part of who he is, his topics and verbal linguistics are above average and most of the time carries on in intellectual brainstorming. I forgive ya, you don't understand.