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ACLU seeks information on Michigan program that allows cops to download information from smart phones belonging to stopped motorists.
The Michigan State Police have a high-tech mobile forensics device that can be used to extract information from cell phones belonging to motorists stopped for minor traffic violations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan last Wednesday demanded that state officials stop stonewalling freedom of information requests for information on the program.
ACLU learned that the police had acquired the cell phone scanning devices and in August 2008 filed an official request for records on the program, including logs of how the devices were used. The state police responded by saying they would provide the information only in return for a payment of $544,680. The ACLU found the charge outrageous.
"Law enforcement officers are known, on occasion, to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide," ACLU staff attorney Mark P. Fancher wrote. "No less should be expected of law enforcement, and the Michigan State Police should be willing to assuage concerns that these powerful extraction devices are being used illegally by honoring our requests for cooperation and disclosure."
A US Department of Justice test of the CelleBrite UFED used by Michigan police found the device could grab all of the photos and video off of an iPhone within one-and-a-half minutes. The device works with 3000 different phone models and can even defeat password protections.
"Complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags," a CelleBrite brochure explains regarding the device's capabilities. "The Physical Analyzer allows visualization of both existing and deleted locations on Google Earth. In addition, location information from GPS devices and image geotags can be mapped on Google Maps."
Originally posted by SmokeandShadow
HOLY CRAP this has been going on since 2008? WOW, how could those policemen and women be SILENT about this? THIS is the crap that gives them a terrible name and the power grabs are going to come to a violent crescendo unless these officers stop this insanity.
Originally posted by hiwhatsup
reply to post by SmokeandShadow
I've worked with the top of the line cellbrite machines for years and I can tell you how they work and this article is definitely over-hyping the abilities of them. They are used to transfer information from one device to the next, and the information that can be transferred (not stored) is limited to Contacts, Images, Photos, Videos and Multimedia.
If they could be used to transfer or store call history, text messages etc. It would have made my job alot easier when an unruly customer is demanding the info be transferededit on 20-4-2011 by hiwhatsup because: adding.
The Cellebrite UFED Physical Pro is a high-end, all-in-one solution for logical and physical extraction. The UFED Physical Pro expands your current device capabilities to extract deleted mobile device data, user passwords, file system dumps, and physical extraction from GPS devices.
With expanded coverage that now includes more than 3000 phones and a growing list of GPS devices, UFED Physical Pro provides the most complete mobile forensics solution available on the market.
Utilizing UFED's simple and field-proven user interface, a complete high-speed hex dump of the phone memory is delivered without the need of cumbersome PC drivers. Critical data such as user lock codes, and deleted information such as text messages, call history, pictures, and video are sorted and retrieved by Cellebrite's Physical Pro engine. The UFED Physical Pro also includes robust search tools for manual hex dump analysis, as well as an expert mode, which allows advanced capabilities for researchers.
UNPARALELLED ACCESS TO PHONE MEMORY
UFED Physical Pro provides access to data inaccessible by logical methods:
■ Phone user lock code
■ Deleted data including: deleted call history, text messages, images, phonebook entries and videos
■ Access to internal application data
■ Phone internal data including: IMSI history, past SIM cards used, past user lock code history
INTELLIGENT SOFTWARE FOR DEEPER INVESTIGATIONS
The memory dump from each phone is a complex data structure. But the UFED Physical Pro software tool makes navigating this data easy. Leveraging Cellebrite's comprehensive knowledge base of each phone's unique memory structure, the UFED PA application focuses the user's attention on the most critical portions of phone memory first.
Features include:
■Built-in knowledge-base of each phone's memory structure for automated retrieval of relevant data
■Hierarchical “tree” view for efficient navigation
■Advanced search capabilities both to novice and expert users
■ Customizable parsing, and search functions
Originally posted by SmokeandShadow
HOLY CRAP this has been going on since 2008? WOW, how could those policemen and women be SILENT about this? THIS is the crap that gives them a terrible name and the power grabs are going to come to a violent crescendo unless these officers stop this insanity.
Originally posted by hiwhatsup
reply to post by Xcathdra
A cellbrite, PC or any other device cant connect and take data from a phone if you have a simple lock on it even if its a basic flip phone with a pin or a blackberry with a password.
Originally posted by Exuberant1
Originally posted by SmokeandShadow
HOLY CRAP this has been going on since 2008? WOW, how could those policemen and women be SILENT about this? THIS is the crap that gives them a terrible name and the power grabs are going to come to a violent crescendo unless these officers stop this insanity.
Come now, they are only doing their jobs.
They don't set policy or make laws - they are people just like you and me.
This might seem bad now, but once cops start catching perverts and drug dealers and terrorists then you'll see that it is worth it. It is a post-9/11 world out there my friend and we all have to sacrifice some liberty for the protections of our freedoms.
But hey, if you don't like it you are free to leave. No one is stopping you. Just quit ragging on they cops when you think they are violating something you think is your rights and remember; they are only following orders so you can't even really blame them.
You say that cops are getting a bad name, well you aren't helping matters either the way you talk about them... just sayin'.
Originally posted by Exuberant1
Are you saying that your right to privacy somehow supercedes my right to feel safe and secure?
Originally posted by Exuberant1
Anyhow, you are just going to have to deal with this new intrusion and accept the fact that it is done for your own good. Or make a paper sign and walk around with it somewhere shouting slogans (but you already know that doesn't work, so suck it up).
edit on 20-4-2011 by Exuberant1 because: (no reason given)