[Scan-DC] Secret US spy program targeted Americans' cellphones

[Merlin]

I'm sure the government has very sophisticated surveillance systems we 
can’t even imagine. The only way to be completely immune is to wear our 
tin foil hats 24/7 and speak in Romulan.
Merlin K3MEJ

On 11/16/2014 6:56 PM, Andrew Clegg wrote:
> I'm not sure that this isn't feasible. The Open BTS project 
> (openbts.org) has implemented GSM base stations on software-defined 
> radio platforms for the last few years, and I've seen demonstrations 
> of unsuspecting cellphones attaching. It would not be hard to spoof a 
> carrier's base station and capture some basic data from a user. There 
> is a corresponding  effort underway for a public-domain LTE 
> implementation, but I don't think that project is complete. I would 
> not be surprised, though, if the intelligence community is further 
> along, if not already equipped with the capability for a full LTE 
> implementation, especially if they had cooperation from the industry. 
> In my opinion, what's described in the article is within the realm of 
> possibility. The biggest challenge would be signal strength loss from 
> a handset on the ground up to an airplane. I can imagine that 
> strategically-placed terrestrial base stations would work better.
>
> Andy
>
> > From: alan at henney.com
> > To: merlin at merlinjacobs.com; scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> > Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 01:04:33 -0500
> > Subject: [Scan-DC] Secret US spy program targeted Americans' cellphones
> >
> >
> > My techie friends are telling me this is not done, not feasible, 
> perhaps
> > even impossible and likely incorrect.
> >
> > Was the WSJ duped or intentionally misled by another high-dollar 
> P.R. firm
> > with an agenda?
> >
> > It is troubling because so many American news outlets simply repeat 
> what
> > they read in the WSJ because it is such a trusted source.
> >
> > Even the white shirt experts were on TV talking about it as fact.
> >
> > What gives?
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Merlin
> > Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2014 7:55 PM
> > To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> > Subject: [Scan-DC] Secret US spy program targeted Americans' cellphones
> >
> > Published November 13, 2014
> >
> > The Wall Street Journal
> >
> > The Justice Department is scooping up data from thousands of cellphones
> > through fake communications towers deployed on airplanes, a high-tech
> > hunt for criminal suspects that is snagging large number of innocent
> > Americans, according to people familiar with the operations.
> >
> > The U.S. Marshals Service program, which became fully functional around
> > 2007, operates Cessna aircraft from at least five metropolitan-area
> > airports, with a flying range covering most of the U.S. population,
> > according to people familiar with the program.
> >
> > Planes are equipped with devices—some known as “dirtboxes” to
> > law-enforcement officials because of the initials of the Boeing Co. unit
> > that produces them—which mimic cell towers of large telecommunications
> > firms and trick cellphones into reporting their unique registration
> > information.
> >
> > The technology in the two-foot-square device enables investigators to
> > scoop data from tens of thousands of cellphones in a single flight,
> > collecting their identifying information and general location, these
> > people said.
> >
> > People with knowledge of the program wouldn’t discuss the frequency or
> > duration of such flights, but said they take place on a regular basis.
> >
> > A Justice Department official would neither confirm nor deny the
> > existence of such a program. The official said discussion of such
> > matters would allow criminal suspects or foreign powers to determine
> > U.S. surveillance capabilities. Justice Department agencies comply with
> > federal law, including by seeking court approval, the official said.
> >
> > The program is the latest example of the extent to which the U.S. is
> > training its surveillance lens inside the U.S. It is similar in approach
> > to the National Security Agency’s program to collect millions of
> > Americans phone records, in that it scoops up large volumes of data in
> > order to find a single person or a handful of people. The U.S.
> > government justified the phone-records collection by arguing it is a
> > minimally invasive way of searching for terrorists.
> >
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