Electronic Privacy? No Such Thing!

Recent investigations by media outlets have brought forth convincing evidence that advancing electronic technology has resulted in a disturbing consequence: virtually no electronic privacy.

Federal and local agencies are gathering all kinds of information on millions of innocent people without their knowledge, or even the knowledge of the courts to which they apply for warrants, investigations have revealed. The popular "Person of Interest" TV show doesn't seem so far-fetched after all.

The FBI has had its own team of hackers for some time, but lately has reportedly advertised its hacking services on LinkedIn, signifying that people really should no longer expect privacy. The bureau has had keystroke-level surveillance capabilities for many years and recently used malware designed to be automatically downloaded when one suspected terrorist logged on to his Yahoo account. (Due to several technical and nontechnical glitches, the malware never did what it was designed to do in this particular case. Yahoo said it was not aware of the malware and did nothing to enable it.)

Through the efforts of its Remote Operations Unit, the FBI can hack into computers and smartphones, turning on microphones and webcams for surveillance purposes without the user being aware of it. Chris Soghoian, principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union, investigated the issue for six months (mainly through Google and LinkedIn) and found several references to the FBI's hacking abilities. His research led to a Wall Street Journal expose in August.

"Tower Dump"

Federal and local agencies also have been using advanced technology to gather information on people's location through their cell phones even when they are idle. Using a tactic called "tower dump," the agencies get phone companies to dump thousands of records of cell phone serial numbers from towers near certain crime scenes. Cell phones transmit their serial numbers to the towers as they use them, allowing agencies to track routes and locations of people via their phones. Phone companies charge thousands of dollars to tower dump, so it is costly to employ that, regardless of privacy concerns.

A lengthy investigation by USA Today and Gannett newspapers and TV stations has revealed that about one-quarter of 125 local law enforcement agencies surveyed have an International Mobile Subscriber Identity tracking device with the brand name of StingRay (or its equivalent) that mimics a cell phone tower and tricks cell phones into transmitting their serial numbers. The devices are mobile and generally travel in vehicles parked near a crime scene. They provide only locations of the cell phones and cannot intercept data or phone conversations. The issue is that no warrant is involved.

Legal Snag

Unlike land lines, cell phone conversations are not protected by law; legally speaking, there is no expectation of privacy when using cell phones. Therefore, agencies are not obligated to report that they are listening in or locating people through their cell phones. And, they don't. "We have no ability to really know what the government is doing, and that's very problematic," Denise Maes, of the ACLU in Colorado, told KUSA-TV's Jeremy Jojola in a recent story on the subject.

Federal government agencies remain mum on their hacking and tracking devices, and local agencies -- the few that will talk openly about them -- defend the practice by saying only "the bad guys" are at risk.

Yeah. Don't count on it.