---

 [ ARCHIVE ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16)

#  Calif Privacy Groups Taking on Fed Who Are Tracking Your Cellphone

![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Nov-2012/cw1089d.png)CALIFORNIA WATCH - FBI investigators used a court order authorizing access to cellphone customer data to quietly deploy a powerful surveillance technology known as [“stingrays,”](https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/rigmaiden_amicus.pdf%20) privacy groups contend in a new court filing that claims the devices are overly invasive.

Written by G.W. Schulz.

November 05 2012

<a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a><a class="a2a_button_print"></a>[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)

![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Nov-2012/cw1089d.png)CALIFORNIA WATCH - FBI investigators used a court order authorizing access to cellphone customer data to quietly deploy a powerful surveillance technology known as [“stingrays,”](https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/rigmaiden_amicus.pdf%20) privacy groups contend in a new court filing that claims the devices are overly invasive.

Your cellphone can be singled out by its international mobile subscriber identity, or IMSI, which then makes it possible to secretly determine your whereabouts using stingray devices, also known as IMSI catchers. The law enforcement tool troubles security experts and civil libertarians alike because it mimics cellphone towers. Stingrays track the locations of mobile devices, including those that are not targeted but are nearby.

IMSI catchers can also be adjusted to capture the content of communications, although the government claims that was not done in this case.

An expert in 2010 showed spectators at a technology conference in Las Vegas that [IMSI catchers](http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/intercepting-cell-phone-calls/) could be built at home for as little as $1,500, exposing a potential weakness in cellphone security. Thirty cellphones in the room reportedly attempted to connect to his do-it-yourself tower, and anyone in the room who made a call while connected to it received an automated message that said their communications were being recorded.

The government’s pursuit of an alleged tax fraudster that began in Northern California and is now playing out in an Arizona courtroom has become the first major constitutional challenge to stingrays. Law enforcement agencies using the technology have held it close to the chest, and the public has little knowledge of it.

In an Oct. 19 friend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. District Court of Arizona, the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California argued that stingrays are “highly intrusive and indiscriminate,” and claimed government investigators sought to utilize them while providing Judge Richard Seeborg with scant details about the technology’s extraordinary power.

“The government prevented the court from making an informed determination on the warrant application,” said Linda Lye, staff attorney for the ACLU of Northern California. “Maybe the court would have said, ‘No, I’m not going to grant this at all because of the impact on third parties.’ Maybe the court would have said, ‘OK, you can do this, but let’s follow these safeguards and procedures to make sure that third-party privacy is protected.”

The point of warrants is to ensure that searches are confined only to those who are the focus of an investigation, added Hanni Fakhoury, a staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. They’re also designed to make certain nothing is left to the discretion of individual officers, something framers of the Constitution had in mind after British soldiers prior to the Revolutionary War conducted door-to-door searches at will.

“If you read the warrant affidavit, it has absolutely zero mention at all of IMSI catchers and stingrays or fake cellphone towers or any explanation of the technology,” Fakhoury said. “Courts are busy, judges are busy; they rely on the government in good faith to explain what they’re doing.”

When a federal judge in Texas this year did grasp the technology, he denied an application by Drug Enforcement Administration investigators who wanted to use a stingray.

“They did not address what the government would do with the cell phone numbers and other information concerning seemingly innocent cell phone users whose information was recorded by the equipment,” Magistrate Judge Brian Owsley wrote in June. “While these various issues were discussed at the hearing, the government did not have specific answers to these questions. Moreover, neither the special agent nor the assistant United States attorney appeared to understand the technology very well.”

The US attorney’s office in Phoenix declined to comment in response to the most recent case. But federal prosecutors stated in an Aug. 20 filing that all they had to do was show how a communications device, in this case an aircard, would provide evidence of a crime. They’re not required to specify how the device would be located, such as with a stingray.

“Defendant was perpetrating a multi-million dollar tax fraud scheme, and he hid his tracks through the use of encrypted emails, money mules, layers of false identities, forged documents, forged identification cards, and botnets and/or proxies,” the filing reads. “ … The alleged inconvenience and intrusiveness of the aircard location operation (which went undetected by an individual who appeared to spend a significant portion of every day seeking to avoid detection or identification) was reasonable under the circumstances.”

“Stringray” also happens to be the brand name for an IMSI catcher offered by the Harris Corp., but it’s also used to generically describe the technology. Other manufacturers offer the devices to law enforcement as well.

*(G. W. Schulz writes for[ California Watch](http://californiawatch.org) where this column was first posted.)*

-cw

CityWatch

Vol 10 Issue 89

Pub: Nov 6, 2012

 [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)")

 ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png)

## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays &amp; Thursdays

 Phone

 [ ![Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/HHR/AHF-rent-too-high.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/104 "Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2")

---

##  Featured CityWatch Stories

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/d8/066m-d8f0fac6.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33229:democrats-finally-tell-iowa-and-new-hampshire-you-dont-go-first-anymore&catid=395)

### [Democrats Finally Tell Iowa and New Hampshire: You Don’t Go First Anymore](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33229:democrats-finally-tell-iowa-and-new-hampshire-you-dont-go-first-anymore&catid=395)

GELFAND’S WORLD - Earlier in the week, the Democratic National Committee did something good. Mind you it wasn’t great…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/da/066j-daf22e28.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33231:a-prisoner-a-peacemaker-and-israels-defining-choice&catid=375)

### [A Prisoner, A Peacemaker, and Israel’s Defining Choice](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33231:a-prisoner-a-peacemaker-and-israels-defining-choice&catid=375)

P.O.V - Marwan Barghouti remains one of the most consequential—and controversial—figures in the Israeli-Palestinian con…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/65/066n-6599ca07.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33228:lausd-demolishes-closed-schools-wasting-public-assets-and-community-hopes&catid=312)

### [LAUSD Demolishes Closed Schools, Wasting Public Assets and Community Hopes](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33228:lausd-demolishes-closed-schools-wasting-public-assets-and-community-hopes&catid=312)

NICK'S VIEW - We are appalled that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is demolishing closed schools in the…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/84/066h-84a1ecbd.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33234:homelessness-among-seniors-spikes-in-los-angeles-county-but-its-not-hopeless&catid=312)

### [Homelessness Among Seniors Spikes in Los Angeles County, But It’s Not Hopeless](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33234:homelessness-among-seniors-spikes-in-los-angeles-county-but-its-not-hopeless&catid=312)

SENIOR HOUSING - Near the very end of the report for the most recent Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, there’s a stat…

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/05/066k-05031c14.jpg) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33230:california-hates-your-car&catid=385)

### [California Hates Your Car](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33230:california-hates-your-car&catid=385)

ELIOT'S ANALYSIS - With all the grace and market savvy of a communist five-year plan, Gavin Newsom and the California E…

---

##  [ ARCHIVE ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/034e.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16)

### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18755:tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people&catid=16)

### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17690:anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete&catid=16)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/033j.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16)

 [ ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Jan-2016/1404d.png) ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)

   [![citywatch logo](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/joomlart/cwlogo.png)](https://www.citywatchla.com/)

- [](https://www.youtube.com/CityWatchLosAngeles)
- [](https://www.facebook.com/CityWatchLA/)

#  Help Support CityWatch

---

If you only give once a month, would you consider giving to CityWatch? Your support fuels our mission to promote and facilitate civic engagement and neighborhood empowerment, and to hold area government and its politicians accountable. **Would you like to help? Even if you can only give $5, it will make a difference.** [Click here to give.](https://www.citywatchla.com/donate)

 [![ken draper, founder](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/banners/ken%20draper%20in%20memorium.png)](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/cw/voices/25264-ken-draper-1933-2022)

---

© ~ CityWatch: Politics. Perspective. Participation. Built by [JSM](https://www.jasonscottmontoya.com)

- [ Home ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33168&Itemid=1106)
- [ Advertise ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1614&Itemid=242)
- [ Contact ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1561&Itemid=243)
- [ Featured Writers ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=384&Itemid=244)
- [ About CityWatch ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1560&Itemid=374)
- [ Search ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_finder&view=search&Itemid=392)
- [ Donate ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_jdonation&view=donation&campaign_id=1&Itemid=511)

 [](#)

Back to Top
<div data-id="1" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-emailform eb-1 eboxContentLocker"
	data-options='{"trigger":"onPageLoad","trigger_selector":"","delay":3000,"early_trigger":true,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":1,"reverse_scroll_close":true,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":10000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"slideInDown","animation_close":"fadeOutDown","animation_duration":400,"disable_page_scroll":true,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #1 - Global Email Signup Form","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog eb-formVer" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog1" aria-label="dialog1">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<form action="https://citywatchla.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=34d69f33624fd058ee9b56516&amp;id=4bfa422f51&amp;f_id=00d6c2e1f0" class="eb" method="post" id="mcform-1" name="mcform-1" target="_blank">
			<div class="eb-form-header"><p><img src="/images/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png" alt="be a city watcher" width="350" height="97" loading="lazy" data-path="local-images:/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png"></p>
<p>Sign up to receive our special e-news blasts on Monday and Thursday evenings!</p></div>
	
					<div class="eb-field-row">

			
			
			
			<input class="eb-input" type="email" name="EMAIL"  placeholder="Email address"  id="EMAIL" value="" required>

			
		</div>
										
	<div class="eb-footer">
    	<button class="eb-btn" type="submit" name="subscribe" style="background-color:rgba(93, 183, 93, 1);color:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)">
    		Sign up    	</button>
    </div>
</form>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>
<div data-id="3" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-yesno eb-3 "
	data-options='{"trigger":"onScrollDepth","trigger_selector":"","delay":0,"early_trigger":false,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":2,"reverse_scroll_close":false,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":1000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"fadeInUp","animation_close":"fadeOut","animation_duration":300,"disable_page_scroll":false,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #3 - Yes \/ No Donation Popup Box","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog " role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog3" aria-label="dialog3">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<div class="ebox-yes-no">
	<div class="ebox-yn-text">
		
		
		<div class="ebox-yn-headline" style="font-size:22px;color:#888888">
			<p>If you only give once a month, would you consider giving to CityWatch?</p>
<p>Your support fuels our mission to promote and facilitate civic engagement and neighborhood empowerment, and to hold area government and its politicians accountable.</p>
<p>Would you like to help? Even if you can only give $5, it will make a difference.</p>		</div>
			</div>
	
	<div class="ebox-ys-buttons" style="font-size: 16px;">
		
<a
					data-ebox-prevent="0"
		data-ebox-cmd="close"
				target="_self"
		href="https://www.citywatchla.com/donate"
		rel="noopener"
	
	
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#2ec664;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Yes
	</a>
<a
	
	
			data-ebox-cmd="close"
		href="#"
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#ef2345;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Not Right Now
	</a>	</div>

	</div>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>