Feds upset that technology is making it more difficult to spy on people

[green73]

Federal law enforcement and intelligence authorities say they are increasingly struggling to conduct court-ordered wiretaps [read: sham FISA "court"] on suspects because of a surge in chat services, instant messaging and other online communications that lack the technical means to be intercepted.

A “large percentage” of wiretap orders to pick up the communications of suspected spies and foreign agents are not being fulfilled, FBI officials said. Law enforcement agents are citing the same challenge in criminal cases; agents, they say, often decline to even seek orders when they know firms lack the means to tap into a suspect’s communications in real time.

“It’s a significant problem, and it’s continuing to get worse,” Amy S. Hess, executive assistant director of the FBI’s Science and Technology Branch, said in a recent interview.

One former U.S. official said that each year “hundreds” of individualized wiretap orders for foreign intelligence are not being fully executed because of a growing gap between the government’s legal authority and its practical ability to capture communications — a problem that bureau officials have called “going dark.”

Officials have expressed alarm for several years about the expansion of online communication services that — unlike traditional and cellular telephone communications — lack intercept capabilities because they are not required by law to build them in.

But the proliferation of these services and a greater wariness — if not hostility — toward government agencies in the wake of revelations about broad National Security Agency surveillance have become a double whammy for law enforcement and intelligence agencies, according to FBI officials and others.

Today, at least 4,000 companies in the United States provide some form of communication service, and a “significant portion” are not required by law to make sure their platforms are wiretap-ready, Hess said. Among the types of services that were unthinkable not long ago are photo-sharing services, which say they allow users to send photos that are automatically deleted, and peer-to-peer Internet phone calls, for which there are no practical means for interception.

Meanwhile, the disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have fostered a widespread view that the government is excessively sweeping up all manner of Americans’ communications. Founded or not, that impression, FBI officials argue, has unfairly extended to the investigations of law enforcement and intelligence agencies that obtain individual warrants to intercept the calls, chats and instant messages of suspected criminals and spies.

cont.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...5b13aa-0d21-11e4-b8e5-d0de80767fc2_story.html

 

[VBRonPaulFan]

 

[Kotin]

cry me a fucking river.

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

I think if I found such a voyeur jacking off outside my window, while watching me change - well, I would probably try and catch the SOB, string them up by their balls from the nearest tree limb, cover their body in honey and kick the shit out of the nearest nest of fire ants...

Jus sayin...

-t

 

[lib3rtarian]

Whenever the law enforcement wants to push for more police state and surveillance, it's always gift-wrapped in causes like catching pedophiles, child porn etc. Causes which no one dare say no to. But in reality, once the cops get the goodies they want, 1% of the time it's used against a pedophile or a rapist (someone who actually deserves it), and the other 99% it's used to crush innocent people.

 

[LibertyEsq]

Mostly good but when it comes to p2p phone calls, there really needs to be some mechanism to trace calls when there is a reasonable basis of suspicion to do so (and when authorities already know who/what they are looking for)...just look up the phenomenon of "swatting" if you want to know why. People can cause chaos via prank calls these days, including having swat teams kick down doors, put families on the floor and arrest people who actually did nothing, without a warrant, because of an "anonymous tip." The story of the flashbang in the baby crib kinda exacerbates this point..

 

[muh_roads]

It's only going to get worse for them as new protocols are created with their spying bullshit in mind.

Thank you Edward Snowden for shining light on these rats.

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

Whenever the law enforcement wants to push for more police state and surveillance, it's always gift-wrapped in causes like catching pedophiles, child porn etc. Causes which no one dare say no to. But in reality, once the cops get the goodies they want, 1% of the time it's used against a pedophile or a rapist (someone who actually deserves it), and the other 99% it's used to crush innocent people.

You are off by 1%...

Take for example the massive video surveillance and licence plate scanner network sold to the DC area public as a measure to recover stolen vehicles. Guess how many stolen cars have been recovered...

yeah...

ppl trackers r us...

Mostly good but when it comes to p2p phone calls, there really needs to be some mechanism to trace calls when there is a reasonable basis of suspicion to do so (and when authorities already know who/what they are looking for)...just look up the phenomenon of "swatting" if you want to know why. People can cause chaos via prank calls these days, including having swat teams kick down doors, put families on the floor and arrest people who actually did nothing, without a warrant, because of an "anonymous tip." The story of the flashbang in the baby crib kinda exacerbates this point..

How about we just de-militarize the police and get rid of SWAT teams...

What about if we made raiding the wrong house and killing the occupant(s) a felony with a mandatory min of life in prison.
How about a cop killing a family pet worth 10 years.
About cops responding to a call for help and killing those they were called to help... wow! Some days I really don't want to read this forum...

What my mom told me: A police man is your friend.
What I'd tell any kid today: If you see a cop - run the fuck away!

Both pieces of advice are good in their respective eras. (sp)
I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!

-t

 

[LibertyEsq]

How about we just de-militarize the police and get rid of SWAT teams...

What my mom told me: A police man is your friend.
What I'd tell any kid today: If you see a cop - run the fuck away!

-t

Fair point but as things stand right now, the concept of anonymous tips really needs to be remedied

 

[VBRonPaulFan]

Fair point but as things stand right now, the concept of anonymous tips really needs to be remedied

what? you mean with... actual... police work... ?

naw, fuck that. let's just run up on this dudes house and test out our new bearcat.

 

[LibertyEsq]

what? you mean with... actual... police work... ?

naw, fuck that. let's just run up on this dudes house and test out our new bearcat.

No you don't understand what I'm saying, I'm talking about the guy making the call not the innocent guy getting his door knocked down. If the fraudulent call is made over an IP masker (which can be done over programs similar to Skype) police can't trace it and they usually have to get the FBI involved to even begin to figure out where the call came from...long after they've already kicked the door down/arrested the family/etc

 

[mad cow]

Fair point but as things stand right now, the concept of anonymous tips really needs to be remedied

The Sixth Amendment:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

 

[LibertyEsq]

The Sixth Amendment:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Exactly... Sadly, anonymous tips right now can be used by police in place of a warrant in certain situations (or to get a warrant quickly), even if an anonymous tip could never actually be used against someone in court

 

[FindLiberty]

Why the fuss now? ...gave it up, inch by inch: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fourth_amendment

 

[Anti Federalist]

Founded or not, that impression, FBI officials argue, has unfairly extended to the investigations of law enforcement and intelligence agencies that obtain individual warrants to intercept the calls, chats and instant messages of suspected criminals and spies.

FOAD

 

[Anti Federalist]

Founded or not, that impression, FBI officials argue, has unfairly extended to the investigations of law enforcement and intelligence agencies that obtain individual warrants to intercept the calls, chats and instant messages of suspected criminals and spies.

FOAD

 

[LibertyEsq]

One of the most egregious examples of what I'm talking about (pay attention to the box on the right in the video):

Caller ID spoofing, social engineering, TTY, prank calls and phone phreaking techniques may be variously combined. 911 systems (including telephony and human operators) have been tricked by calls placed from cities hundreds of miles away or even from other countries.[9] The caller typically places a 911 call using a spoofed phone number with the goal of tricking emergency authorities into responding to an address with a SWAT team to an emergency which doesn't exist.

http://www.reddit.com/r/LivestreamFails/comments/2admyl/n0thingtv_getting_swatted/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting

Swatting is the tricking of any emergency service (via such as a 9-1-1 dispatcher) into dispatching an emergency response based on the false report of an on-going critical incident. Episodes range from large to small, from the deployment of bomb squads, SWAT units and other police units and the concurrent evacuations of schools and businesses to a single fabricated police report meant to discredit an individual as a prank or personal vendetta. While it is a misdemeanor or a felony in every state (of the USA) in and of itself to report any untruth to law enforcement, swatting can cause massive disruption to the civil order and the public peace by the hoaxed deployment of police and other civic resources such as ambulances and fire departments.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather live in a country where a call claiming an emergency in a home could be traced (just traced, not wiretapped) to verify the claim, and fraudulent callers prosecuted, rather than one where the above can happen regularly.

 

[otherone]

The Sixth Amendment:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

The Constitution predates organized police in this country. It's "protections" seem quaint against the angry tonnage of 'roided predators empowered to prowl the streets.

 

[LibForestPaul]

Mostly good but when it comes to p2p phone calls, there really needs to be some mechanism to trace calls when there is a reasonable basis of suspicion to do so (and when authorities already know who/what they are looking for)...just look up the phenomenon of "swatting" if you want to know why. People can cause chaos via prank calls these days, including having swat teams kick down doors, put families on the floor and arrest people who actually did nothing, without a warrant, because of an "anonymous tip." The story of the flashbang in the baby crib kinda exacerbates this point..

State does not have the authority to force communications to be identifiable.

 

[LibertyEsq]

State does not have the authority to force communications to be identifiable.

Maybe not, but perhaps companies should be more willing to voluntarily allow for mechanisms that do so. The kind of thing I am talking about could lead not only to scary SWAT situations but possibly wrongful convictions for serious crimes. It would just be better for police to know where these threats/pranks are coming from before the SWAT raids and not months after the fact by subpoena. I'm not advocating for wiretapping or spying, just for identifying the source of "anonymous tips" that do nothing but cause chaos and disrupt people's lives, so such people can be held accountable