[Scan-DC] Two Va. EMS workers indicted

[Dewey3]

I think that there is a lot NOT being said, and that the article was very
poorly written.  "If other people obtained these codes and installed them
on scanners...".  Sure, give the hobby an undeserved black eye... as if we
don't already have enough issues with people attacking the hobby without a
clue on how things work.  I agree that it sounds like someone got a hold of
a keyloader.  As to installing the codes on scanners... well... I missed
that part of Paul O's presentation on the new Unidens.  I bet that EVERY FD
& PD has scanner/radio enthusiasts who have added some channels to radios.
Me thinks these two are scapegoats for proving that "ordinary" people can
do things with these radios that the big radio companies are marketing as "
unhackable and unmonitorible"

/RANT MODE OFF
Dewey


On Wed, Nov 27, 2013 at 1:15 AM, Alan Henney <alan at henney.com> wrote:

>
> I've read this article several times, but still can't figure out exactly
> what the men did.  Any idea?  A felony charge seems harsh for reprogramming
> rescue squad radios without consent.
>
> I guess this was an encrypted radio system.  What kind?  Did they have
> access to a keyloader or simply reprogram an encrypted radio?
>
> Anybody know a scanner that will accept an encryption key (I don't)?
>
> Alan
>
>
> Bluefield Daily Telegraph (West Virginia)
>
> November 26, 2013 Tuesday
>
> Two Va. EMS workers indicted
>
> BYLINE: Greg Jordan, BLUEFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH
>
> SECTION: LOCAL NEWS
>
> LENGTH: 502 words
>
> TAZEWELL,Va. - Two local rescue squad members have been indicted for their
> unauthorized incursion into the local law enforcement radio system that
> would allow them to overhear officers' conversations, according to a
> statement issued Monday by the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office.
>
> Carlos Darnell Baker, no age available, of Berwind, and Nathaniel Layne
> Dunford, no age available, of Cedar Bluff, Va., were both charged with use
> of computer to convert property/program of another (Tazewell County
> Sheriff's Office) and maliciously make an unauthorized copy of
> property/program of another, according to a press release issued Monday by
> the sheriff's office. The charges are class 5 and class 6 felonies
> respectively.
>
> The charges stem from an investigation into the unauthorized use and
> copying of the sheriff's office channels on their rescue squad radios. It
> has since been learned that Baker and Dunford also allegedly programmed the
> Tazewell Police Department, Russell County Fire and EMS, and the Virginia
> State Police channels into their radios. Charges from Russell County and
> the Virginia State Police are pending.
>
> The unauthorized use and copying of these channels could become an officer
> safety issue, Sheriff Brian Hieatt told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
> Downloading encryption keys allowed the men to hear officers speaking to
> each other. If other people obtained these codes and installed them on
> scanners, they could overhear police, too, and use the information to warn
> suspects and commit other acts.
>
> "It's not that we thought they in particular would commit a crime," Hieatt
> said.
>
> Obtaining the codes and putting them on other radios or scanners created a
> risk to officers, he stated. Reprogramming the codes in the county's radios
> will cost $4,700.
>
> "We felt compelled to offer these two men the opportunity to pay for the
> reprogramming of these radios prior to charging them," Hieatt said. "The
> problem is cost of reprogramming is high because every law enforcement
> radio in the county will have to be handled in order to reprogram them. I
> don't feel the citizens of this county should be responsible for paying to
> reprogram the encryptions, but that the men should be responsible for the
> cost."
>
> The sheriff's office was advised by the attorney representing Dunford and
> Baker that they would not be able to pay the cost prior to Nov. 1. The
> offer was made to allow the men to make payments, but no contact was made
> regarding this matter after the final phone conversation with their
> attorney, according to the sheriff's office release.
>
> While the frequencies to law enforcement agencies are available online
> from the FCC, the encryption keys used to secure those radio transmissions
> are proprietary. A person can have that information only if he or she has
> expressed written permission, according to the sheriff's office release.
>
> Dunford is free on an unsecured bond, and Baker was freed on a $1,000
> secured bond, according to the sheriff's office release. Both men are
> awaiting future court dates.
>
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