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posted by janrinok on Sunday September 04 2016, @10:31AM   Printer-friendly
from the do-you-know-who's-listening? dept.

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

A confidential, 120-page catalogue of spy equipment, originating from British defense firm Cobham and circulated to U.S. law enforcement, touts gear that can intercept wireless calls and text messages, locate people via their mobile phones, and jam cellular communications in a particular area.

The catalogue was obtained by The Intercept as part of a large trove of documents originating within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where spokesperson Molly Best confirmed Cobham wares have been purchased but did not provide further information. The document provides a rare look at the wide range of electronic surveillance tactics used by police and militaries in the U.S. and abroad, offering equipment ranging from black boxes that can monitor an entire town's cellular signals to microphones hidden in lighters and cameras hidden in trashcans. Markings date it to 2014.

[...] "By design, these devices are indiscriminate and operate across a wide area where many people may be present," said Richard Tynan, a technologist at Privacy International, of the gear in the Cobham catalogue. Such "indiscriminate surveillance systems that are not targeted in any way based on prior suspicion" are "the essence of mass surveillance," he added.

Source: https://theintercept.com/2016/09/01/leaked-catalogue-reveals-a-vast-array-of-military-spy-gear-offered-to-u-s-police/


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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 04 2016, @11:35AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 04 2016, @11:35AM (#397346)

    As long as this tech i also available to the general public, who cares?

    There used to be multiple private security companies that served as checks against government monopoly of force. In the 19th century, Pinkerton and Baldwin-Feltz were among many private police agencies in the US. They were very powerful because of their national presence, whereas the military was strictly a reserve force used in times of insurrection and national emergency, and the national guard was still controlled by individual states. Today the relics of these companies are relegated to mall security, front desk assistance (companies *need* physical security for insurance reasons but don't really want them doing anything, AND they need front lobby receptionists, so it makes sense) and most aren't even allowed to carry a weapon.

    With the concentration of power around Federal Government, as well as the backlash against anything private in the early 20th century, things changed. While just about everything else nationalized during that time turned out to be a bad idea, we still hold on to the relics of socialism in concentrating power in government only out of fear of privatization.

    The first gun laws were enacted to keep weapons out of the hands of freed blacks. The areas with the most black people also have the strongest gun control laws even in 2016. The whole BLM movement is really a protest against government monopoly on force and weapons.

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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 04 2016, @11:41AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 04 2016, @11:41AM (#397348)

    Because:
    1) The tech is NOT available to the general public. A crippled version maybe, sure, but you go and try to buy it... let us know how far you get.
    2) This tech is used /against/ the public. If you still don't realize that the SeSPol is there to enforce the status quo, you've been living under a rock. The police is NOT your friend (not your enemy either, but most certainly not your friend).
    3) This is not about concentration of power in the USG. This is about federating that power to local police stations who have a huge amount of power already.

    So when you ask "who cares?", then I say, I care... and I don't like where this is going!

    • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday September 04 2016, @03:20PM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Sunday September 04 2016, @03:20PM (#397409) Homepage

      I thought it was pretty hilarious how some of those things were disguised as well - especially the trash can and the birdhouse. It's some shit straight out of Get Smart.

      • (Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday September 04 2016, @09:52PM

        by frojack (1554) on Sunday September 04 2016, @09:52PM (#397528) Journal

        Yeah, I'm trying to think how you might sneak a birdhouse into someone's back yard meth operation and have them NOT notice it. Even hanging in a public park this thing would look out of place.

        --
        No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 04 2016, @10:45PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 04 2016, @10:45PM (#397551)

          Putting it in a neighbour's yard may suffice.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Sunday September 04 2016, @01:02PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday September 04 2016, @01:02PM (#397369) Journal

    You apparently don't do reading comprehension, or anything that resembles analytical thinking. This is a LEAKED, SECRET CATALOG!!

    "As long as this tech i also available to the general public, who cares?"

    I've said as much, many times, though I phrase it differently. Joe Blow should have access to anything and everything that the local police have access to. Anything. The police are just citizens, after all, and they are supposed to answer to their fellow citizens. That's the constitution, that's not all the weasel-talk that the lawyers have used to pass stupid, unjust laws in this country. If a cop (any cop) can use SWAT gear, then the citizens on the street should have SWAT gear. If the cops are using armored robots, then the community should have armored robots. If the cops are using drones to spy on the community, then the community is entitled to drones. If cops are running redlights and speeding, then citizens have the same freedom to ignore traffic laws.

    So, we kinda agree, except, you can't read very well.

    That catalog is not available to you and me.

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday September 04 2016, @11:20PM

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Sunday September 04 2016, @11:20PM (#397562)

    Wow, your political bias is showing A/C.

    multiple private security companies that served as checks against government monopoly of force

    That's not what they were for, they were the tools of the wealthy, and used to brutalise striking workers, see the Homestead strike [wikipedia.org]

    They were very powerful because of their national presence...

    No, they were very powerful because of the money wealthy employers paid them to recruit thugs to murder striking workers. [wikipedia.org]

    Of course you might be happier with private industry murdering American workers, because I'm sure they would be more efficient than the government wouldn't they?