FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
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Re: FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
#2> "Aircraft surveillance has become an indispensable intelligence collection and investigative technique which serves as a force multiplier to the ground teams," the FBI said in 2009 when it asked Congress for $5.1m for the program.
Holy military state, Batman! It seems that the FBI has really taken to heart the change in mission statement from "law enforcement" to "national security"[1].
> The surveillance flights comply with agency rules, an FBI spokesman said. Those rules, which are heavily redacted in publicly available documents, limit the types of equipment the agency can use, as well as the justifications and duration of the surveillance.
Given the duration and location of these aircraft, it's very hard to see how these aren't an illegal search, given the past few years of judicial rulings[2][3]. It's become very clear that collecting movement data, even if that movement data is public, requires a warrant. No wonder the FBI wants to keep a layer of fake companies between it and these planes. Also, if you do collect wide area data for a specific target, can you keep the wide area data for use later on for another purpose?
I volunteer for an organization[4] that works with cities to adopt privacy policies regarding the data they collect, receive, and share. To date, our privacy policies have mostly been focused on disclosing how local offices are sharing local data (license plate readers, stingrays, etc.) with the feds, but now it seems we need to add sections about disclosing incoming data feeds from the feds.
[1]: http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/fbis-main-mission-now-not...
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Jones_%282012...
Re: FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
#3How can an ordinary person tell if one of these spy planes is currently overhead?
Is there some way to dink with them, similar to Matt Blaze's in-band signalling vulnerabilities discovery(s) (http://www.crypto.com/papers/wiretap.pdf) ? You know, use old phones that still have SIM cards, but have them try to register constantly? I'm a bit vague on cellphone protocol details, so spare me the nit picking, and get on with the revelations.
Re: FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
#4How can an ordinary person tell if one of these spy planes is currently overhead? Is there some way to dink with them, similar to Matt Blaze's in-band signalling vulnerabilities discovery(s) ( http://www.crypto.com/papers/wiretap.pdf ) ? You know, use old phones that still have SIM cards, but have them try to register constantly? I'm a bit vague on cellphone protocol details, so spare me the nit picking, and get on w…
from u/jjwiseman
>DOJ/FBI surveillance aircraft often squawk 4414 or 4415 on their transponders.
Re: FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
#5> "Aircraft surveillance has become an indispensable intelligence collection and investigative technique which serves as a force multiplier to the ground teams," the FBI said in 2009 when it asked Congress for $5.1m for the program. Holy military state, Batman! It seems that the FBI has really taken to heart the change in mission statement from "law enforcement" to "national security"[1]. > The surveillance flights c…
I think your last point about data retention is really the big question. Given the ever-growing use of Parallel Construction in making cases from illegally obtained data (or data authorized only for a different use), its not enough that all these policies be stopped -- we need to address how long they can keep the fruits of their labor.
Re: FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
#6When it was imagined, we called it "distopian" - books were written and immortalized, movies were made, warnings were served.
When it happened, there was barely a murmur.
Re: FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
#7>The FBI asked the AP not to disclose the names of the fake companies it uncovered, saying that would saddle taxpayers with the expense of creating new cover companies to shield the government’s involvement, and could endanger the planes and integrity of the surveillance missions. The AP declined the FBI’s request because the companies’ names – as well as common addresses linked to the Justice Department – are listed on public documents and in government databases.
Glad to see AP still has gumption.
Re: FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
#8When it was imagined, we called it "distopian" - books were written and immortalized, movies were made, warnings were served. When it happened, there was barely a murmur.
> When it was imagined, we called it "distopian"
I always though it was "dystopian" but your spelling made me check again. Apparently, "distopia" is used in some romance languages like
Spanish - http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distop%C3%ADa
Portuguese - http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distopia
Italian - http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distopia
Re: FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
#9> "Aircraft surveillance has become an indispensable intelligence collection and investigative technique which serves as a force multiplier to the ground teams," the FBI said in 2009 when it asked Congress for $5.1m for the program. Holy military state, Batman! It seems that the FBI has really taken to heart the change in mission statement from "law enforcement" to "national security"[1]. > The surveillance flights c…
It seems that the FBI has really taken to heart the change in mission statement from "law enforcement" to "national security
After 9/11, that's what people seemed to demand.
Re: FBI operating fleet of surveillance aircraft flying over US cities
#10> The FBI asked the AP not to disclose the names of the fake companies it uncovered, saying that would saddle taxpayers with the expense of creating new cover companies to shield the government’s involvement, and could endanger the planes and integrity of the surveillance missions. The AP declined the FBI’s request because the companies’ names – as well as common addresses linked to the Justice Department – are liste…
If only that gumption extended to the US tax payer footing the bill to be spied upon.