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“Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

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Re: “Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

#41

Post by chosenbreed37 »

rimliu wrote: post #29
newnewpdro wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time I read such misguided comments praising Apple's surveillance devices vs. the competitors I lose a little bit more of what's left of my faith in humanity. Even the supposedly tech literate among us have completely lost sight of the fundamentals.

I am just curious, what makes you think you are well-informed?

> I am just curious, what makes you think you are well-informed?

I don't it's a claim to be well-informed or even better informed as compared to others. I dare say everyone in the HN is reasonably well informed on a variety of subjects. I think it is a critique of the limitations in reasoning. A person can be well informed and still succumb to flawed reasoning. No matter how well informed one is one can still have blind spots. E.g. an allegiance to a particular device or OS in the hope of being safe from surveillance.

Re: “Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

#42

Post by millstone »

newnewpdro wrote: post #11
_bxg1 wrote: post #2

Every time I see one of these I'm validated in my decision to switch to Apple.

Every time I read such misguided comments praising Apple's surveillance devices vs. the competitors I lose a little bit more of what's left of my faith in humanity. Even the supposedly tech literate among us have completely lost sight of the fundamentals.

Apple's position is that Maps computes as much on-device as possible (reminders, etc), and everything else is produced using rotating randomly-generated identifiers that can't be tied to your Apple ID. What's your vision for a better system?

Re: “Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

#43

Post by candiodari »

jamiethompson wrote: post #30

I find it concerning that a judge, being presented with a textual description of four GPS coordinates would sign off on a warrant without simply asking... "okay, can you show me that on a map then?"

In the criminal justice system a judge is asked, in 15 minutes average per case, to see if there is any reason at all to suspect this person, nothing more.

A judge would sign off given just the list of coordinates, and legally, they'd be correct in doing so.

Re: “Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

#44

Post by FartyMcFarter »

jamiethompson wrote: post #30

I find it concerning that a judge, being presented with a textual description of four GPS coordinates would sign off on a warrant without simply asking... "okay, can you show me that on a map then?"

Do we know that the judge didn't simply plug the coordinates into some online mapping service to find out? It's not that hard...

Re: “Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

#46

Post by clort » 

  "Most human beings can't interpret large strings of numbers
  and GPS coordinates without a map to illustrate them, and
  judges are no exception," said Nathan Freed Wessler, an
  attorney for the national American Civil Liberties Union.
One would hope though (clearly not, in this case) that a judge would be motivated to recognise when they were unable to interpret data like this that they were given, and request that it be provided in a clearer form that they could interpret.

If judges do not do that routinely then perhaps they should be required to do so

Re: “Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

#47

Post by heavenlyblue »

dazc wrote: post #35
knolan wrote: post #23

Several years ago while living in London we had a visit from the police because they were able to access my partner’s Oyster travel card registration details — she had provided her home address and I hadn’t. They were following up on an apparently minor assault and pulled tbe Oyster card details for everyone on a specific train. Considering this is a city with ubiquitous CCTV, smart phones are just another data sourc…

Is there still any advantage to having a registered oyster card?

Yeah - now they'll simply pull your contactless card details instead. No need to register at all.

Re: “Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

#48

Post by cf141q5325 »

onetimemanytime wrote: post #38

question: can an appeals judge later throw out the warrant, if the judge applied the law "incorrectly"? This technique makes sense for cops . For a lot of killings there's a lit of potential suspects so this weeds out all but a few.

It doesnt weed out anyone. You dont have to have your phone with you during a crime.

Re: “Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

#49

Post by taneq »

jacquesm wrote: post #22
sveme wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you switch off GPS for Google Maps on your iPhone, you should be save. Did that and only use Google Maps now to sanity-check Apple Maps traffic conditions.

Safe from Google and Apple but not from cell tower triangulation.

Well yeah, you can be followed by a guy in a trenchcoat too, no matter what your phone's privacy settings are.

Re: “Reverse location” search warrants identify all cellphones near a crime scene

#50

Post by hrktb »

bloak wrote: post #34

How often does someone carrying out a planned crime carry a phone with them that is switched on, these days? Use of mobile phone data by the police has been standard practice since 2001, at least, and widely publicised.

I think at some point people will go to jail because they turned off and on their phone before and after a horrible murder that happened nearby.
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