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FBI Hands Over 5000 Pages Of Stingray Info To MuckRock, Redacts Nearly All Of It Techdirt
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FBI Hands Over 5000 Pages Of Stingray Info To
MuckRock, Redacts Nearly All Of It
from t he [NOTHING-TO-SEE-HERE] dept
Failures
by Tim Cushing
Fri, May 1st 2015
6:36pm
0
MuckRock has obtained a whole stack of Stingray-related documents from the FBI. As is to be
expected, there's not much left unsaid by the agency, which is at least as protective of its own
Stingray secrecy as it is with that of law enforcement agencies all over the US.
There's nearly 5,000 pages of "material" here, most of which contains only some intriguing words
and phrases surrounded by page after page of redactions.
Want to know [REDACTED]'s thoughts on the possible legal implications of Triggerfish? Just close
your eyes and allow your imagination to run free.
Essential Reading
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Filed Under:
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That's not to say there's nothing of interest left intact. A few pages explain the FBI's legal
rationale for IMSI catcher deployment -- including the fact that the Patriot Act expanded the reach
of pen register orders to include not just numbers dialed, but also the location of the phone
itself. This allows the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to route around one of CALEA's
(Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) few limitations related to pen register
orders: that service providers not be required to hand over subscriber location info.
In passing CALEA in 1994, Congress required providers to isolate and provide to the
government certain information relating to telephone communications. At the same
time that it created these obligations, it created an exception: carriers shall not
provide law enforcement with "any information that may disclose the physical
location of the subscriber" in response to a pen/trap order… By its very terms, this
prohibition applies only to information collected by a provider and not to
information collected directly by law enforcement authorities. Thus, CALEA does not
bar the use of pen/trap orders to authorize the use of cell phone tracking devices
used to locate targeted cell phones.
But, for the most part, it's 5000 pages of this:
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And this (from a document titled "Stingray for Dummies"):
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FBI Hands Over 5000 Pages Of Stingray Info To MuckRock, Redacts Nearly All Of It Techdirt
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It's not a complete loss, although it's clear the documents suffer from over-redaction. The FBI
clearly doesn't want to discuss methods or technical details, but nothing in the multiple FOIA
exemptions deployed justifies covering up its minimization procedures or where the device
sits in terms of the Fourth Amendment.
"It does not seem credible to me that they can't release more of those kinds of
records," [ACLU attorney Nate] Wessler told me. "Information about ongoing
investigations, highly technical details of the devices, how they're put together,
those kinds of things, redact them, fair enough. Information about whether they
have to get a warrant or not, how they purge or do not purge bystanders data.
They're clearly talking about those things."
"There's no conceivable reason why they shouldn't tell the public what their Fourth
Amendment rights are protecting when they use these," he added. "The documents
are not without value, but what the FBI has released is not adequate."
If nothing else, the documents have given a small, narrow glimpse behind the FBI's veil of secrecy
-- as well as some more insight into its Stingray-related legal maneuvering. The FBI has managed
to turn a pen register order -- something previously used to collect dialed numbers -- into
something that can be deployed to locate an individual, or at least their cellphone. Unsurprisingly,
this legal theory traces back to the Patriot Act, one of the largest expansions of intelligence and
law enforcement powers ever produced by the US government.
To print the document, click the "Original Document" link to
open the original PDF. At this time it is not possible to print
the document with annotations.
Tw eet
166
Like
68
28 Comments Leave a Comment
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If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...
DOJ Blurred Lines Between Terrorism & Crime To Expand NSA & FBI Warrantless Wiretapping Of 'Hackers'
House Overwehelmingly Passes Amendments Blocking Funding For Undermining Encryption
Pentagon Offered 'FOIA Terrorist' Jason Leopold A Stack Of Documents To Just Shut Up And Go Away Forever
'Insert Probable Cause:' Pen Register Boilerplate Hides Sheriff's Department's Hundreds Of Stingray
Deployments
AP Uncovers More Than 100 FBI Spy Plane Flights, Originating From Shell Companies Located In Virginia
Reader Comments (rss)
(Flattened / Threaded)
1.
Show All Comments
M. Alan Thomas II (profile), May 1st, 2015 @ 6:37pm
insightful
funny
report
STEP 2
Turn StingRay system on.
What is step 1, "Take it to the site"? "Plug it in"? And that's too sensitive to tell us?!?
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
2.
Anonymous Anonymous Coward, May 1st, 2015 @ 6:43pm
insightful
funny
report
Re:
No, step one is sign NDA.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
3.
Hans, May 1st, 2015 @ 7:41pm
insightful
funny
report
Privileged
I see they used the "Attorney/Client privileged" dodge to exclude the Cell Phone Location Quick Reference Guide
on pages 10-11, so we can't see what the criteria are for using this thing.
Isn't great that a government employee, paid by us, can ask a government lawyer, also paid by us, under what
conditions our Constitutional Rights can be violated, and we can't know what those rules are? Kafka would have
been proud.
It seems to me that if the government can claim to be a "client" for this purpose, and the government is also "the
people", then we the people are also the client and we have every right to see it.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
4.
Anonymous Coward, May 1st, 2015 @ 8:08pm
insightful
funny
report
Repeal the PAT RIOT Act.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
5.
Padpaw (profile), May 1st, 2015 @ 8:23pm
insightful
funny
report
well of course its mostly blanked out. Otherwise they would incriminate themselves and the police groups that
have knowingly and willfully broken the laws they know will get them arrested and most likely sent to jail for
breaking
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
6.
Spaceman Spiff (profile), May 1st, 2015 @ 8:32pm
insightful
funny
report
And so it goes on, and on, and on...
The FBI could just have easily given them 10 reams of blank paper. It would have said just as much as this!
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
7.
Anonymous Coward, May 1st, 2015 @ 8:44pm
insightful
funny
report
National security.
It's a good thing the electorate is exactly as stupid as the government needs it to be.
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[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
8.
Anonymous Coward, May 1st, 2015 @ 8:59pm
insightful
funny
report
It's going to be interesting if the Patriot Act is allowed to sunset. What justification would the FBI then use for it's
continued use?
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
9.
Padpaw (profile), May 1st, 2015 @ 10:51pm
insightful
funny
report
Re:
they just won't tell anyone they are doing illegal things.
You might notice a theme with the government in that they do illegal actions all the time and only after they get
caught do they try and make excuses or just say national security and cover it up
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
10.
Mega1987 (profile), May 2nd, 2015 @ 1:41am
insightful
funny
report
can i even say it's a perfect waste of resources...
to redacts most of that near 5k pages of info?
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
11.
avideogameplayer, May 2nd, 2015 @ 4:51am
insightful
funny
report
M aybe the FBI should just start handling out gift cards for Staples...
At least that'll be useful for something...
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
12.
tqk (profile), May 2nd, 2015 @ 6:19am
insightful
funny
report
Re:
Oh, come on! This's a vast improvement over earlier efforts. They're using blank white boxes now, saving you a
fortune on black ink. I guess those replacement printer cartridges are getting really expensive.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
13.
cypherspace (profile), May 2nd, 2015 @ 6:21am
insightful
funny
report
M ike, I think you need to have some sensitivity towards readers with psychological trauma over cell tower spoofers.
You should put a "TRIGGERFISH WARNING" in your title!
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
14.
cypherspace (profile), May 2nd, 2015 @ 6:21am
insightful
funny
report
Re:
Correction: Tim
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
15.
cypherspace (profile), May 2nd, 2015 @ 6:31am
insightful
funny
report
Re: Privileged
#checkyourattorneyclientprivilege
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
16.
cypherspace (profile), May 2nd, 2015 @ 6:36am
insightful
funny
report
Re:
Anyone else notice that the "B5 exemption" reads similarly to "BS exemption?"
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
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17.
FBI Hands Over 5000 Pages Of Stingray Info To MuckRock, Redacts Nearly All Of It Techdirt
Reality bites, May 2nd, 2015 @ 7:52am
insightful
funny
report
FBI = Rogue agency run by traitors
The entire agency should be shut down and its employee's put in jail awaiting trial and execution. Not one of them
worth saving. It was rogue right from the start and hasn't deviated from its planned course even once.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
18.
Anonymous Coward, May 2nd, 2015 @ 8:01am
insightful
funny
report
not that hard to figure out what stingrays are capable of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD1ngJ85vWM &index=38&list=PLwibn_3po6c8nIzgDyWdLpohPWeZ7dIz5
I wish Tim and the other TD authors would spend a few hours with this playlist and take some serious notes- It
would improve their reporting on these subjects by orders of magnitude. The info is out there, right in plain sight.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
19.
Uriel-238 (profile), May 2nd, 2015 @ 10:30am
insightful
funny
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Dear Muckrock: GFY. Thanks, FBI.
That seems to be the whole point of this exercise.
I'd love it to be used as a case example to argue against FOIA redactions, not that our DoJ GaFF.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
20.
Bergman (profile), May 2nd, 2015 @ 11:11am
insightful
funny
report
I wonder...
How would the FBI react to being treated the same way when they issue a subpoena?
"We're sorry, but we don't have any documents responsive to the parameters of your subpoena, have a nice day."
Somehow I suspect it would result in SWAT team deployments.
The FBI typically insists on whole documents, unredacted even when parts of it are not part of the subpoena. I
wonder how they'd react to getting a partially redacted document?
Right. SWAT teams.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
21.
Despiser, May 3rd, 2015 @ 11:16am
insightful
funny
report
Transparency in the age of 0bama:
Documents created by public employees with public funds on public time are "secret." Documents created by
private individuals and businesses using private funds are required to be publicly disclosed.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
22.
Uriel-238 (profile), May 3rd, 2015 @ 12:28pm
insightful
funny
report
The age of Obama
...is very much a natural progression from the age of Bush + the Post 9/11 era.
I'm pretty sure transparency in the age of Obama looks very much like transparency would in the age of Romney.
Though Obama can be blamed for acknowledging that opacity and overclassificaiton are problems, and promising to
do something about it and then not.
I expect the next guy won't even acknowledge it, no matter whether it's Kang or Kodos.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
23.
TM Lutas (profile), May 3rd, 2015 @ 1:08pm
insightful
funny
report
FOIA is the wrong tool
The right tool is to catch them spoofing a cell phone tower, documenting it, and only then asking if law
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enforcement has done it. When they deny, file a criminal complaint and a national security complaint because if
law enforcement didn't do it, it was either criminals or spies.
Then when these complaints pile up without action, use them to defeat the DA that is ignoring them. It's only
when people start losing their job that this sort of thing will be handled properly and the weakest point is in the
parts of the criminal justice system directly subject to the voter.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
24.
insightful
Anonymous Coward, May 3rd, 2015 @ 3:04pm
funny
report
haha
The USA is a fucking joke.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
25.
insightful
Dayne, May 3rd, 2015 @ 3:19pm
funny
report
I was just thinking I would like to get a hold of a few of these, originals of course, and frame them. I have a feeling
they would be great to have around when the great grandchildren start asking questions.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
26.
insightful
Uriel-238 (profile), May 3rd, 2015 @ 4:59pm
funny
report
The joke that is USA
...in contrast to whom?
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
27.
John Fenderson (profile), May 4th, 2015 @ 7:42am
insightful
funny
report
Re: The joke that is USA
Saying "x" is a joke isn't a comparative judgement. It can be true even if there are no better alternatives.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
28.
insightful
soillodge (profile), May 4th, 2015 @ 2:39pm
funny
report
Worst M ad Lib.
Ever.
[ reply to this link to this view in thread ]
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