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

Quote :

"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#ixzz1KC6aO1TN"

-Texts
-Emails
-Calls
-Photos


Uhhhh, no thanks. I don't trust the police enough with that information.

4/21/2011 5:11:06 PM

Every cop in the area will see Emce's dong pics

4/21/2011 5:13:36 PM

Quote :

"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."

How is this part even remotely up for debate?

4/21/2011 5:13:45 PM

Man what are the cops going to do with all those pictures of my dick?

4/21/2011 5:13:47 PM

yeah, aside from the popo seeing that picture, I think there are other things at issue here.

4/21/2011 5:14:42 PM

Quote :

"The Michigan State Police later issued a statement saying that it only uses the data-extraction devices after obtaining a search warrant or consent from a cell phone's owner."

OK, now that I've read this, I have less of a problem with it.

4/21/2011 5:15:40 PM

Yeah, they'll never use it without consent or a warrant.

[Edited on April 21, 2011 at 5:17 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2011 5:17:31 PM

AFAIK, a warrant can be requested from a patrol car, and sent to a patrol car.


I just don't have faith enough in our police to operate with any sense of justice and morality.


I think the mention of a warrant is just the police's way of saying

4/21/2011 5:19:11 PM

Maybe they could get some mobile bodyscanner units too.

And offer complimentary butthole searches.

4/21/2011 5:20:58 PM

Well I'm sure as hell not going to consent to have all of my information on my phone downloaded by a State Trooper. And I'd love to know how a routine traffic stop would be probable cause enough for a warrant. Unless refusal of consent is in itself grounds enough for a warrant, which is a whole different kind of fucked up.



[Edited on April 21, 2011 at 5:21 PM. Reason : Hmm.]

4/21/2011 5:21:02 PM

eh, not going to go there

[Edited on April 21, 2011 at 5:23 PM. Reason : yet]

4/21/2011 5:23:36 PM

Quote :

"-Texts -Emails -Calls -Photos"

-Everywhere you've been over the past year (iPhone only)

4/21/2011 5:25:32 PM

touche, sir


also, I can't imagine my company would be too thrilled to know the proprietary info. they send to my phone could potentially leave a secure environment.

4/21/2011 5:27:35 PM

Wait a minute... they can hear through walls.
They can record every phone call.
They can download all your information from your phone.
They can decode almost any encryption that a regular, non-talented person can come up with


We're doomed.

4/21/2011 5:38:29 PM

4/21/2011 5:41:12 PM

I use a cellebrite every day

4/21/2011 5:45:34 PM

legal issues aside, how does something like that even work?? does it use bluetooth (not likely) or the cellular frequencies or what?

i guess if you get pulled over by MSP, take the battery out of your phone and none of this will be an issue

4/21/2011 5:54:14 PM

they had something like this on Prison Break lol

4/21/2011 5:55:06 PM

^^ I do not know the answer to that question. Perhaps someone else on TWW does?

[Edited on April 21, 2011 at 6:13 PM. Reason : carats]

4/21/2011 6:12:40 PM

Glad I don't live in Michigan anymore

4/21/2011 6:13:18 PM

No worries. In Wake Co. they wouldn't extract your info, they'd just accidentally erase it.

[Edited on April 21, 2011 at 9:04 PM. Reason : *]

4/21/2011 9:04:09 PM

4/21/2011 9:05:39 PM

can they see things you've deleted?

4/21/2011 9:17:48 PM

I'd imagine not.

4/21/2011 9:19:12 PM

Quote :

"Wait a minute... they can hear through walls. They can record every phone call. They can download all your information from your phone. They can decode almost any encryption that a regular, non-talented person can come up with We're doomed."

Or maybe not....http://www.alertboot.com/blog/blogs/endpoint_security/archive/2011/03/29/data-encryption-the-fbi-needs-your-help-to-crack-a-code-and-solve-a-murder.aspx

4/21/2011 9:30:49 PM

"if you don't have anything to hide, you have nothing to worry about"

4/21/2011 9:31:27 PM

Quote :

"legal issues aside, how does something like that even work?? does it use bluetooth (not likely) or the cellular frequencies or what?"

The device I use is bluetooth capable, but we usually use cables to connect the device to the machine.

4/21/2011 9:35:57 PM

My phone would mysteriously lose its battery between the time the cop pulled me over and he got to the car.

4/21/2011 9:39:49 PM

The device being mentioned was initially designed for retail store usage (like what bmel is talking about) so that
when a customer came in to upgrade their phone they could have their contacts transferred over to the new phone.
The Cellebrite device supports (if I remember right) around 6,000 different models of cellphones.
You tether the old cellphone to the device via data cable, select what type of info you want sucked out, then
detach the old phone and connect the new phone and write the data to the unit.
Obviously Cellebrite realized their device could be targeted towards the LEO community.

4/21/2011 9:54:31 PM

unacceptable.

4/21/2011 9:57:05 PM

I can work a cellebrite with a blindfold on. (not really, but almost)

I cant figure out how they are getting in to phones without some action on the part of the phone user. I guess via bluetooth?

Even then you have to accept the connection from a bluetooth device, right?

This is clearly unreasonable search/seizure in absence of a warrant.

4/21/2011 10:05:32 PM

In tomorrow's news, Cellebrite releases cell phone encryption app guaranteed to prevent data extraction in the event of a traffic stop.

and by the way, the technological capabilities of our electronic infrastructure vs. the average intelligence of the government operator to properly calibrate the settings in order to properly share information among agencies and across media is metaphorically equivalent to a handicapped senior citizen trying to do a speed trial in a Maserati prototype

you tell me vast coordinated government conspiracy
I tell you look at the fucking retards attempting to use equipment and share info among any given agency

we can't rely on their lack of proficiency to hamper data mining forever, but the market for consumer electronics moves so quickly that the stagnant nature of government standardization and training programs to regulate and capture data will increasingly continue to fail to keep up with consumers

the cyclical reestablishment of the bureaucratic learning curve is our best bet for privacy, and one of our last hopes for electronic freedom

[Edited on April 21, 2011 at 10:55 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2011 10:33:04 PM

Terrible.

4/22/2011 8:16:03 AM

When you upgrade phones just keep the old on lying around in your car in case you get pulled over. If it becomes a big deal and they want to use the device on your phone, hand them the old one with some dummy numbers in it and be on your way.

4/22/2011 8:42:50 AM

Too bad the Cary police didn't have one of these in 2008.

4/22/2011 8:51:19 AM

Personally I think you're terrible.

Everything I said is true. You can't stop these trends, but the greed of electronics manufacturers keeps data storage proprietary on the handsets, making the changing market of what people are using the best safety from in-field collection from the government. This is one of the big obstacles to things like electronic healthcare records. Everyone wants to keep the data storage format proprietary and have a monopoly on the contract. Same forces at work.

Go design a next generation air traffic control system or something and go vote for Obama again. Get back to me when you're not napping with an ATC in the tower and sticking it to the establishment.

4/22/2011 1:39:49 PM

^^They did

4/22/2011 1:58:08 PM