[Scan-DC] Two Va. EMS workers indicted

[Earl Suitor]

First of all, it's ridiculous just on the face of it. It sounds like the
felony charges come from copyright infringement, stemming from copying the
software & encryption key. I also fail to see how it's going to cost $4,700
to reprogram the counties radios. It must be all labor. It's simple to
reprogram a new encryption key into a radio. Secondly they meant no harm and
they're wrong about being able to put an encryption key into any scanner.
Third, this paranoia about people listening to the police is starting to bug
me. Much more public good is derived from the added eyes for a BOLO, and
taxpayer confidence. If you really wanted to know where the police are
before committing a crime they're much easier ways to do that. Police
systems have Achilles' heels, but the radios aren't one. 

 

Earl Suitor

 

From: Alan Henney [mailto:alan at henney.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2013 1:16 AM
To: Scan DC
Subject: Two Va. EMS workers indicted

 

 

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.