Cell Phone Surveillance at the RNC Convention

“This summer at the RNC, it’s practically a foregone conclusion that StingRays will be in use whether by the Cleveland Division of Police or the FBI or the Secret Service or whomever,” said Jacqueline Greene, a civil rights attorney… who cites the high security level of the RNC as reason enough for police to use the devices.  Continue Reading…

(Analyst Comment: Cell-site simulators like StingRays, DRT Boxes, and other ISMI-catchers trick cell phones into revealing meta-data and, in some cases, voice and text messages.  Local, state or federal law enforcement agencies also use them to identify and track cell phone users in the area.  The practice is controversial because cell phones emit signals that can be intercepted by any third-party.  From the government’s perspective, your cell phone signal is reaching out and reporting its location to cell towers, anyway, which they say makes it fair game for their third-party equipment.)