Michigan cops stealing drivers' phone data

[OutHouse]

holy hell. are we a free country anymore? seriously wtf.



http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20055431-1.html


The Michigan State Police have started using handheld machines called "extraction devices" to download personal information from motorists they pull over, even if they're not suspected of any crime. Naturally, the ACLU has a problem with this.

The devices, sold by a company called Cellebrite, can download text messages, photos, video, and even GPS data from most brands of cell phones. The handheld machines have various interfaces to work with different models and can even bypass security passwords and access some information.

The problem as the ACLU sees it, is that accessing a citizen's private phone information when there's no probable cause creates a violation of the Constitution's 4th Amendment, which protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures.

To that end, it's petitioning the MSP to turn over information about its use of the devices under the Freedom of Information Act. The MSP said it's happy to comply, that is, if the ACLU provides them with a processing fee in excess of $500,000. That's more than $100,000 for each of the five devices the MSP says it has in use.

The ACLU, for its part, says that the fee is odious, and that a public policing agency has a duty to its citizens to be open. "This should be something that they are handing over freely, and that they should be more than happy to share with the public--the routines and the guidelines that they follow," Mark Fancher, an attorney for the ACLU, told Detroit's WDIV.

As of yet there's no suit, but one is likely if the MSP sticks to its proverbial guns and refuses to hand over information about how it's using the cell phone snooping devices, without being first paid off. If litigation does come, the outcome may set a precedent that would have far-reaching effects, and might make a device that most of us carry a pocket battleground in the war of digital privacy.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20055431-1.html#ixzz1K5tOrbW5

 

[irishScott]

Well at least the ACLU has its head on straight this time.

 

[NoStateofMind]

This is gross invasion of privacy.

 

[Lemon law]

Thank for this link OutHouse, it certainly somewhat wakes me up and I hope it outrages the entire nation.

But I do have a question, if your cell phone is in the off state, can police using the cellebrite still find out anything about my cell phone? If not it would be a good policy to turn our cell phones off, as a good defensive strategy against unwarranted intrusion.

 

[Fear No Evil]

How would they even know a motorist has a cell phone on them? They searching everyone they pull over? Quite disturbing.

 

[Fear No Evil]

Thank for this link OutHouse, it certainly somewhat wakes me up and I hope it outrages the entire nation.

But I do have a question, if your cell phone is in the off state, can police using the cellebrite still find out anything about my cell phone? If not it would be a good policy to turn our cell phones off, as a good defensive strategy against unwarranted intrusion.

I get the impression that the software requires a physical hookup. Similar to what cellphone companies use to transfer data between old and new phones. I think the name of the company making the product is the same as what Sprint uses.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Thank for this link OutHouse, it certainly somewhat wakes me up and I hope it outrages the entire nation.

But I do have a question, if your cell phone is in the off state, can police using the cellebrite still find out anything about my cell phone? If not it would be a good policy to turn our cell phones off, as a good defensive strategy against unwarranted intrusion.

I'm not sure. But what stops them from turning it on? Pulling out the battery might help (sorry iPhone) or simply refusing to give them your phone in the first place.

 

[OCGuy]

They need to be sued into the ground...

 

[JSt0rm]

lol Michigan

 

[MrEgo]

I used to work for a medium-sized business that sold Sprint phones as an IT consultant. I was in their cell phone stores every now and then, and I watched one of the cell phone repair techs use the Cellebrite device.

Basically, the way it works, is that you connect the Cellebrite to the cell phone through USB, cat5, or whatever interface the cell phone requires. Once you power on the Cellebrite, it asks you what kind of cell phone that you have connected. Assuming you have the latest software version of the Cellebrite downloaded (they release software revisions all the time), you can select any cell phone ever made by any of the major vendors. Once you've selected the correct cell phone, it gives you a list of options that you can do with it, such as transferring contacts from one phone to another, pull text messages, photos, data, or whatever you want.

These things have been around for a very long time, and they're probably a common tool among cell phone repair stores.

 

[theeedude]

ACLU always with their America hating ACLU stuff. Can't these liberal elites stop with their whining?

 

[Fear No Evil]

ACLU always with their America hating ACLU stuff. Can't these liberal elites stop with their whining?

Even Bush did some things right every once in a while. Want to praise him too?

 

[JS80]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/apr/20/iphone-tracking-prompts-privacy-fears

 

[child of wonder]

I eagerly look forward to a future news story when a citizen refuses to hand over their cell phone at a traffic stop, is arrested, and then sues.

This will be followed by some P&N posters whining that if the citizen had nothing to hide he should have turned over the phone, he could have avoided all this trouble by just complying with the officer, and that he was just trolling the officers for an excuse to sue.

 

[PottedMeat]

The Michigan State Police have started using handheld machines called "extraction devices" to download personal information from motorists they pull over, even if they're not suspected of any crime.

Isn't this one of those things you have to clear with I dunno, say the state's justice department or something because they're the ones that are going to have to deal with this shitstorm?

 

[iGas]

I'm not sure. But what stops them from turning it on? Pulling out the battery might help (sorry iPhone) or simply refusing to give them your phone in the first place.

Haven't you heard of police brutality?

They would use any reason as a cause for "resiting arrest" and beat the hell out of you.

I have gotten into problem with the cop for asking him why he stop me & my girlfriend, because he took about 45 minutes to check my ID. The reason was routine check after 9/11 because I was driving a Ford Taurus and may have looked "suspiciously brown" (I'm Vietnamese and have lighter skin tone than some of my Caucasian friend).

 

[Patranus]

I eagerly look forward to a future news story when a citizen refuses to hand over their cell phone at a traffic stop, is arrested, and then sues.

This will be followed by some P&N posters whining that if the citizen had nothing to hide he should have turned over the phone, he could have avoided all this trouble by just complying with the officer, and that he was just trolling the officers for an excuse to sue.

What do you think happens when you refuse a search of your car?
The police use that as probable cause to search it anyways.

 

[waggy]

damn not good. i don't expect it to last long either.

 

[Paul98]

Time to go put a bunch of penis pictures on my phone then go get pulled over lol

 

[waggy]

What do you think happens when you refuse a search of your car?
The police use that as probable cause to search it anyways.

refusing a search is not probable cause and only fucking idiots think so.

now they will sit your ass down and bring in a K9 unit.

for the record i always say no when they ask to search the car. I don't do illegal drugs. i don't carry illegal stuff. they just don't need to go through my vehicle.

 

[piasabird]

Dont keep anything on my phone except an address book with a list of phone numbers. They can get the same info from my Phone Company with a warrant. Of course if I was a drug dealer they might be able to get my contacts and drug messages. But a smart man could develop code for the illegal stuff.

 

[Patranus]

refusing a search is not probable cause and only fucking idiots think so.

now they will sit your ass down and bring in a K9 unit.

for the record i always say no when they ask to search the car. I don't do illegal drugs. i don't carry illegal stuff. they just don't need to go through my vehicle.

Ok, you try and say no next time and see what happens.

 

[rudeguy]

great fearmongering article.

Notice the only concrete thing it says is going on is accessing personal information. Not that its being stored or what the information is. I'm guessing this has something to do with our new anti-texting and driving laws. Not much else you can get at with a Cellebrite and that's if the damn thing works.

I worked with those stupid machines for years and they only work when they want to. And that's assuming you have the right patch cable. This article is a whole lot of nothing.

 

[Nintendesert]

Ok, you try and say no next time and see what happens.

It's our rights as Americans in this country to say NO. Maybe if more of you weak-minded fucks would exercise your rights then the government wouldn't feel they're free to take more and more of them away.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I listened to a talk radio clip (an On Point episode?) where some commentator mentioned that centuries ago people didn't have much personal privacy at all. Now that everything is becoming computerized, we might return to an age of having little personal privacy, though in different ways.