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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday August 18 2020, @03:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the good-luck-with-that dept.

Secret Service bought location data pulled from common apps:

The Secret Service paid a private company for access to location data generated by common smartphone apps, Motherboard reports. Internal documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show that the agency spent $35,844 for a one-year subscription to Babel Street's product Locate X, which tracks the location of devices via data harvested from popular apps.

As Motherboard notes, the glaring issue with this contract is that it allows the law enforcement agency to buy information that it would normally need a warrant or a court order to obtain.

[...] In March, Protocol reported that US Customs and Border Protection purchased Locate X, and a former Babel Street employee told Protocol that the Secret Service and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were using the location-tracking tech. But Motherboard has the first confirmation that the Secret Service did in fact purchase Locate X.

[...] Senator Ron Wyden is reportedly planning legislation to block law enforcement from purchasing products like Locate X.

"It is clear that multiple federal agencies have turned to purchasing Americans' data to buy their way around Americans' Fourth Amendment Rights. I'm drafting legislation to close this loophole, and ensure the Fourth Amendment isn't for sale," Wyden said in a statement provided to Motherboard.


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Thexalon on Tuesday August 18 2020, @03:48PM (10 children)

    by Thexalon (636) on Tuesday August 18 2020, @03:48PM (#1038386)

    We can stop them from using it against us.

    No, we can't, because most of the time when they use that data against people, it's all classified, which means that anybody who knows about the abuse of the data in question can't tell anybody without risking the Chelsea Manning treatment (years of barely-legal psychological torture prior to trial, in case you've forgotten) if they're caught.

    From what we have been able to glean:
    1. People with access to the data have used it for petty personal stuff like stalking their ex's.
    2. The basics of what you should assume they know include:
          - Where you go.
          - Who you talk to.
          - All your financial transactions not done in cash.
          - Any unencrypted Internet activity, including all emails and most social media activity.
          - Any encrypted Internet activity, if it's with a major company. And possibly anything else if they think it's worth decrypting it.
          - Any phone call or text message.
          - What you and the people you're around look like.
          - What vehicle(s) you own.
          - What vehicle(s) you regularly drive.
          - If you work, which company, which location, your job title, and your salary.
          - Who else is part of your household, and all of the above for each of them.
    3. Some of the things they are able to figure out fairly accurately from that:
          - What religion you are, if you are religious in any way.
          - Who you vote for.
          - What hobbies and interests you have.
          - A personality profile.
          - Whether you've attended any kind of protest, and if so what it was for / against.
          - What kind of sexual kinks you have, if you watch pr0n.
          - Your cash transactions (e.g. if you withdraw a bunch of money from an ATM and drive to somebody's house on a regular basis, they'll have no trouble determining that that might well be the home of your drug dealer).

    But don't worry, that's all to protect you from those Evil Foreigners Who Hate Your Freedom.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2020, @03:53PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 18 2020, @03:53PM (#1038389)

    Really?
    The government isn't even jailing terrorists caught on video with multiple witnesses committing arson against a federal courthouse with people INSIDE.
    And you're worried about the govt tracking if you watch porn? The country won't even do anything to you for attempted murder.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Tork on Tuesday August 18 2020, @05:08PM (1 child)

      by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 18 2020, @05:08PM (#1038416)

      The country won't even do anything to you for attempted murder.

      Unless you embarrass the president, then your livelihood gets taken away.

      --
      🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 19 2020, @03:58AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 19 2020, @03:58AM (#1038700)

        And if it's worse in Saudi Arabia, or anywhere in fact, just keep telling yourself how lucky you are.

        USA! USA! USA!

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday August 18 2020, @10:42PM (2 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday August 18 2020, @10:42PM (#1038568) Journal

      The government isn't even jailing terrorists caught on video with multiple witnesses committing arson against a federal courthouse with people INSIDE.

      Yet. That we know of.

      The government is watching, collecting data, and the government will use all of that data as it sees fit, when it sees fit. Depending on who is running the government, YOU might be deemed a terrorist. Or me. Or Fustakrakich, or Aristarchus, or whoever.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 19 2020, @09:50PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 19 2020, @09:50PM (#1039060)

        Yeah, sure, the government is watching and recording you all the time. That's why they need to purchase this information from outside vendors.

        Do you even THINK about the stuff you write, or does it just flow naturally out your fingertips without going through the brain first?

        • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 19 2020, @11:30PM

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 19 2020, @11:30PM (#1039104) Journal

          The cameras mounted inside of the Federal building, which were used to identify rioters in Portland? That video wasn't purchased. Do YOU think about the shit you write?

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday August 18 2020, @11:13PM

      by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday August 18 2020, @11:13PM (#1038586)

      The government isn't even jailing terrorists caught on video ...

      They might if that weren't a fantasy though.

      What the government has done however was to kidnap people off the street, old them without charge then release them without explanation.

  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday August 18 2020, @04:01PM

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday August 18 2020, @04:01PM (#1038392) Journal

    It's still up to us to pry the system open. If we don't, nobody will.

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday August 19 2020, @02:48AM (1 child)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday August 19 2020, @02:48AM (#1038674) Journal

    There are already citizens using databases to doxx people they don't like. Its incidence is rather limited at the moment, but there is no reason it should remain so. The US is a country with less than 1 billion people; it's not that hard to reduce that data set to an identifiable number quickly.

    Even those who work for the CIA/NSA/FBI etc are not immune to the de-masking power of modern computation devices. If the citizens of the US get mad enough, they too will be found and dealt with.

    The information revolution is a double-edged sword, and its secrets are not relegated to the government or corporations alone.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 19 2020, @05:57AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 19 2020, @05:57AM (#1038740)

      Sure would suck to have the corporations and the government as your enemy tho. I sure don't feel like I'm the enemy, but I guess I need to stop dreaming and get my head down and suck corp./govt. dick some more.