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Cops have cellphone scanners to download pics and videos...

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Uprising, Apr 20, 2011.

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  1. Uprising

    Uprising Member

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    4/19/2011
    Michigan: Police Search Cell Phones During Traffic Stops

    [​IMG]

    ACLU seeks information on Michigan program that allows cops to download information from smart phones belonging to stopped motorists.

    The Michigan State Police have a high-tech mobile forensics device that can be used to extract information from cell phones belonging to motorists stopped for minor traffic violations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan last Wednesday demanded that state officials stop stonewalling freedom of information requests for information on the program.

    ACLU learned that the police had acquired the cell phone scanning devices and in August 2008 filed an official request for records on the program, including logs of how the devices were used. The state police responded by saying they would provide the information only in return for a payment of $544,680. The ACLU found the charge outrageous.

    "Law enforcement officers are known, on occasion, to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide," ACLU staff attorney Mark P. Fancher wrote. "No less should be expected of law enforcement, and the Michigan State Police should be willing to assuage concerns that these powerful extraction devices are being used illegally by honoring our requests for cooperation and disclosure."

    A US Department of Justice test of the CelleBrite UFED used by Michigan police found the device could grab all of the photos and video off of an iPhone within one-and-a-half minutes. The device works with 3000 different phone models and can even defeat password protections.

    "Complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags," a CelleBrite brochure explains regarding the device's capabilities. "The Physical Analyzer allows visualization of both existing and deleted locations on Google Earth. In addition, location information from GPS devices and image geotags can be mapped on Google Maps."

    The ACLU is concerned that these powerful capabilities are being quietly used to bypass Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.

    "With certain exceptions that do not apply here, a search cannot occur without a warrant in which a judicial officer determines that there is probable cause to believe that the search will yield evidence of criminal activity," Fancher wrote. "A device that allows immediate, surreptitious intrusion into private data creates enormous risks that troopers will ignore these requirements to the detriment of the constitutional rights of persons whose cell phones are searched."

    The national ACLU is currently suing the Department of Homeland Security for its policy of warrantless electronic searches of laptops and cell phones belonging to people entering the country who are not suspected of committing any crime.

    http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/34/3458.asp
     
    #1 Uprising, Apr 20, 2011
  2. Eric Riley

    Eric Riley Member

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    So now it's - "Can I see your license, proof of insurance, and cell phone?" :confused:
     
    #2 Eric Riley, Apr 20, 2011
  3. willz

    willz New Member

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    thats not right in my opinion , surely thats against privacy laws ?
     
    #3 willz, Apr 20, 2011
  4. RMGEEGEE

    RMGEEGEE Member

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    I suppose they could use the information to see if the driver was texting while on the road.
     
    #4 RMGEEGEE, Apr 20, 2011
  5. rhadamanthus

    rhadamanthus Member

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    #5 rhadamanthus, Apr 20, 2011
  6. Xerobull

    Xerobull ...and I'm all out of bubblegum
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    I wonder if I will get a ticket for my video collection of 'Donkeys ****ing cops' ?
     
    #6 Xerobull, Apr 20, 2011
  7. justtxyank

    justtxyank Member

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    It's no big deal. If you don't object to them looking at your naked body in an airport scanner, rubbing a child's labia, groping your wife's butt cheeks, feeling around her breasts...

    why do you care if they see some family photos?

    America: Sexual molestation is fine but leave my IPhone alone!
     
    #7 justtxyank, Apr 20, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  8. DonnyMost

    DonnyMost Member
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    Well, they can take your blood against your will, figures this was next.
     
    #8 DonnyMost, Apr 20, 2011
  9. Pushkin

    Pushkin Member

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    I would object, but then I am an attorney and I have e-mails protected by the attorney-client privilege.
     
    #9 Pushkin, Apr 20, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  10. emjohn

    emjohn Member

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    That's some serious invasion of privacy - hope that gets knocked down by the courts pronto.
     
    #10 emjohn, Apr 20, 2011
  11. moestavern19

    moestavern19 Member

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    ****ing Pigs
     
    #11 moestavern19, Apr 20, 2011
  12. CrazyDave

    CrazyDave Member

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    Un-freaking-believable. So now if you get caught speeding they have a right to pry into your entire life?

    What a freaking joke. I can't even believe it's gotten this far. Sad testament to where things are headed if something like this can get to this point.
     
    #12 CrazyDave, Apr 20, 2011
  13. Nero

    Nero Member

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    Sunlight is the best weapon against shenanigans like this. If the smart-phone makers were not really aware of this kind of device up until now, they sure will be, and customer demand will absolutely create the need for the makers to implement software and hardware protections against this kind of invasion of privacy.

    The best thing to do is to render their little $50,000 toys obsolete overnight.

    Michigan taxpayers can take care of the rest.

    Now the real question is, who else is using these types of things?


    And, as long as we are on the subject, by all means, use them on suspicious foreign nationals from known terrorist-harboring nations if and when they are allowed to enter the country.

    Just not on us here.
     
    #13 Nero, Apr 20, 2011
  14. VanityHalfBlack

    VanityHalfBlack Member

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    My text to police/pigs: Eat **** and die maggots!!!!
     
    #14 VanityHalfBlack, Apr 20, 2011
  15. Scionxa

    Scionxa Member

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    lol you guys are trippin over this. You're already being watched.
    Especially if you have Sprint, and or other major carriers.


    I had a nice post on this in the LG G2X thread


    www.carrieriq.com

    ^ They're watching you


     
    #15 Scionxa, Apr 20, 2011
  16. Royals Ego

    Royals Ego Member

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    "i don't have a cellphone"
     
    #16 Royals Ego, Apr 20, 2011
  17. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    It seems a bit incredible that Michigan would do something that so plainly invades one's civil rights like this. Surely, there is some mitigating factors not mentioned in the article, right? Otherwise, they are just begging for lawsuits. I'm surprised to see they've been doing this for 3 years and haven't been shut down yet.

    Take the most benign example; is it acceptable? Most benignly, a cop saw you texting while driving in a place that's illegal, and uses this device to get a log of times texts were sent, without the content of the text or any other data from the phone. Would that be acceptable? I'd lean toward saying that's acceptable, but you'd need a ton of controls in place to keep the cops from also grabbing content.
     
    #17 JuanValdez, Apr 20, 2011
  18. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    If you don't support this, then you don't support our troops.
     
    #18 Invisible Fan, Apr 20, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  19. Raven

    Raven Member

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    America is turning into a police state.

    :(

    But did you hear what Charlie Sheen just said!
     
    #19 Raven, Apr 20, 2011
  20. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    "I think I smell mar1juana."
     
    #20 JuanValdez, Apr 20, 2011
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