warpedskydiver 0 #1 January 3, 2007 http://www.news.com/ FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool By Declan McCullagh http://news.com.com/FBI+taps+cell+phone+mic+as+eavesdropping+tool/2100-1029_3-6140191.html Story last modified Mon Dec 04 06:56:51 PST 2006 The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone's microphone and using it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations. The technique is called a "roving bug," and was approved by top U.S. Department of Justice officials for use against members of a New York organized crime family who were wary of conventional surveillance techniques such as tailing a suspect or wiretapping him. Nextel cell phones owned by two alleged mobsters, John Ardito and his attorney Peter Peluso, were used by the FBI to listen in on nearby conversations. The FBI views Ardito as one of the most powerful men in the Genovese family, a major part of the national Mafia. The surveillance technique came to light in an opinion published this week by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. He ruled that the "roving bug" was legal because federal wiretapping law is broad enough to permit eavesdropping even of conversations that take place near a suspect's cell phone. Kaplan's opinion said that the eavesdropping technique "functioned whether the phone was powered on or off." Some handsets can't be fully powered down without removing the battery; for instance, some Nokia models will wake up when turned off if an alarm is set. While the Genovese crime family prosecution appears to be the first time a remote-eavesdropping mechanism has been used in a criminal case, the technique has been discussed in security circles for years. The U.S. Commerce Department's security office warns that "a cellular telephone can be turned into a microphone and transmitter for the purpose of listening to conversations in the vicinity of the phone." An article in the Financial Times last year said mobile providers can "remotely install a piece of software on to any handset, without the owner's knowledge, which will activate the microphone even when its owner is not making a call." Nextel and Samsung handsets and the Motorola Razr are especially vulnerable to software downloads that activate their microphones, said James Atkinson, a counter-surveillance consultant who has worked closely with government agencies. "They can be remotely accessed and made to transmit room audio all the time," he said. "You can do that without having physical access to the phone." Because modern handsets are miniature computers, downloaded software could modify the usual interface that always displays when a call is in progress. The spyware could then place a call to the FBI and activate the microphone--all without the owner knowing it happened. (The FBI declined to comment on Friday.) "If a phone has in fact been modified to act as a bug, the only way to counteract that is to either have a bugsweeper follow you around 24-7, which is not practical, or to peel the battery off the phone," Atkinson said. Security-conscious corporate executives routinely remove the batteries from their cell phones, he added. FBI's physical bugs discovered The FBI's Joint Organized Crime Task Force, which includes members of the New York police department, had little luck with conventional surveillance of the Genovese family. They did have a confidential source who reported the suspects met at restaurants including Brunello Trattoria in New Rochelle, N.Y., which the FBI then bugged. But in July 2003, Ardito and his crew discovered bugs in three restaurants, and the FBI quietly removed the rest. Conversations recounted in FBI affidavits show the men were also highly suspicious of being tailed by police and avoided conversations on cell phones whenever possible. That led the FBI to resort to "roving bugs," first of Ardito's Nextel handset and then of Peluso's. U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones approved them in a series of orders in 2003 and 2004, and said she expected to "be advised of the locations" of the suspects when their conversations were recorded. Details of how the Nextel bugs worked are sketchy. Court documents, including an affidavit (p1) and (p2) prepared by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kolodner in September 2003, refer to them as a "listening device placed in the cellular telephone." That phrase could refer to software or hardware. One private investigator interviewed by CNET News.com, Skipp Porteous of Sherlock Investigations in New York, said he believed the FBI planted a physical bug somewhere in the Nextel handset and did not remotely activate the microphone. "They had to have physical possession of the phone to do it," Porteous said. "There are several ways that they could have gotten physical possession. Then they monitored the bug from fairly near by." But other experts thought microphone activation is the more likely scenario, mostly because the battery in a tiny bug would not have lasted a year and because court documents say the bug works anywhere "within the United States"--in other words, outside the range of a nearby FBI agent armed with a radio receiver. In addition, a paranoid Mafioso likely would be suspicious of any ploy to get him to hand over a cell phone so a bug could be planted. And Kolodner's affidavit seeking a court order lists Ardito's phone number, his 15-digit International Mobile Subscriber Identifier, and lists Nextel Communications as the service provider, all of which would be unnecessary if a physical bug were being planted. A BBC article from 2004 reported that intelligence agencies routinely employ the remote-activiation method. "A mobile sitting on the desk of a politician or businessman can act as a powerful, undetectable bug," the article said, "enabling them to be activated at a later date to pick up sounds even when the receiver is down." For its part, Nextel said through spokesman Travis Sowders: "We're not aware of this investigation, and we weren't asked to participate." Other mobile providers were reluctant to talk about this kind of surveillance. Verizon Wireless said only that it "works closely with law enforcement and public safety officials. When presented with legally authorized orders, we assist law enforcement in every way possible." A Motorola representative said that "your best source in this case would be the FBI itself." Cingular, T-Mobile, and the CTIA trade association did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mobsters: The surveillance vanguard This isn't the first time the federal government has pushed at the limits of electronic surveillance when investigating reputed mobsters. In one case involving Nicodemo S. Scarfo, the alleged mastermind of a loan shark operation in New Jersey, the FBI found itself thwarted when Scarfo used Pretty Good Privacy software (PGP) to encode confidential business data. So with a judge's approval, FBI agents repeatedly snuck into Scarfo's business to plant a keystroke logger and monitor its output. Like Ardito's lawyers, Scarfo's defense attorneys argued that the then-novel technique was not legal and that the information gleaned through it could not be used. Also like Ardito, Scarfo's lawyers lost when a judge ruled in January 2002 that the evidence was admissible. This week, Judge Kaplan in the southern district of New York concluded that the "roving bugs" were legally permitted to capture hundreds of hours of conversations because the FBI had obtained a court order and alternatives probably wouldn't work. The FBI's "applications made a sufficient case for electronic surveillance," Kaplan wrote. "They indicated that alternative methods of investigation either had failed or were unlikely to produce results, in part because the subjects deliberately avoided government surveillance." Bill Stollhans, president of the Private Investigators Association of Virginia, said such a technique would be legally reserved for police armed with court orders, not private investigators. There is "no law that would allow me as a private investigator to use that type of technique," he said. "That is exclusively for law enforcement. It is not allowable or not legal in the private sector. No client of mine can ask me to overhear telephone or strictly oral conversations." Surreptitious activation of built-in microphones by the FBI has been done before. A 2003 lawsuit revealed that the FBI was able to surreptitiously turn on the built-in microphones in automotive systems like General Motors' OnStar to snoop on passengers' conversations. When FBI agents remotely activated the system and were listening in, passengers in the vehicle could not tell that their conversations were being monitored. Malicious hackers have followed suit. A report last year said Spanish authorities had detained a man who write a Trojan horse that secretly activated a computer's video camera and forwarded him the recordings. Copyright ©1995-2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,116 #2 January 3, 2007 Yep. Any cellphone out there can pretty easily be used to record and transmit everything that happens in the area. Can be used to track the guy too. One note - "Security-conscious corporate executives routinely remove the batteries from their cell phones, he added." Some phones have internal batteries which cannot easily be removed. They are normally used as backups for memory or to provide a safe shutdown of a processor (as in a PDA phone) but can be used to transmit (or record) with the appropriate SW. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,148 #3 January 3, 2007 It's so obvious I'm only surprised it took so long to come to light. If the FBI can do it...... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #4 January 3, 2007 Quotethe eavesdropping technique "functioned whether the phone was powered on or off." That might explain those daily network charges I get even on days for which I don't turn on my phone... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Butters 0 #5 January 3, 2007 Always talk in code: Code: Me and some crack whore just did a mound of cocaine and are now going to hijack a plane and kill alot of passengers. Translation: A girl and I just spent a lot of time and money organizing a bigway."That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #6 January 3, 2007 If you are not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. The government is trying to protect all of us from the evil-doers. Can anyone else think of appropriate homilies in support of our loss of constitutional rights??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,590 #7 January 3, 2007 QuoteYep. Any cellphone out there can pretty easily be used to record and transmit everything that happens in the area. Can be used to track the guy too. One note - "Security-conscious corporate executives routinely remove the batteries from their cell phones, he added." Some phones have internal batteries which cannot easily be removed. They are normally used as backups for memory or to provide a safe shutdown of a processor (as in a PDA phone) but can be used to transmit (or record) with the appropriate SW. Note to self: Money to be made designing and marketing a line of cell-phone cases with integrated Faraday cages."There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #8 January 3, 2007 Cellphones and blackberries have been completely prohibited in most areas (on or off, battery or not) at my place of work for quite a while now because of this. ...didn't know the FBI was actively employing it to collect evidence against suspects though, should have guessed as much. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Butters 0 #9 January 3, 2007 QuoteIf you are not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. If you are doing something wrong it is for your own good that we catch and punish you."That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
downwardspiral 0 #10 January 3, 2007 QuoteQuoteIf you are not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. If you are doing something wrong it is for your own good that we catch and punish you. If you are not doing something wrong....what the fuck is wrong with you?www.FourWheelerHB.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akarunway 1 #11 January 3, 2007 QuoteQuoteQuoteIf you are not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. If you are doing something wrong it is for your own good that we catch and punish you. If you are not doing something wrong....what the fuck is wrong with you?Depends on your definition of wrong?I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Butters 0 #12 January 4, 2007 QuoteQuoteQuoteIf you are not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. If you are doing something wrong it is for your own good that we catch and punish you. If you are not doing something wrong....what the fuck is wrong with you? You do realize that isn't my belief but merely something in reply to ... QuoteCan anyone else think of appropriate homilies in support of our loss of constitutional rights???"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livetofall 0 #13 January 4, 2007 They have all these capabilities, but get your phone stolen and see what happens..this of course before this new GPS friends deal. I had my car stolen and cell in CA and cingular gave me a heaping amount of bullshit about how I would need to get an order from a judge for them to track my phone! MY phone! So if your a victim forget it, but if they want your or your famous (remember Micheal Jordans dad?) then you can actually get some use of what they can do. The phone was on. Could have caught the thief, but car theft is not priority, especially CA. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #14 January 4, 2007 QuoteIf you are not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. The government is trying to protect all of us from the evil-doers. Can anyone else think of appropriate homilies in support of our loss of constitutional rights??? QuoteAnd so a lot of people say there's too much personal freedom. When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it. - Bill Clinton, 1994, MTV's "Enough is Enough" QuoteWe can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans... - Bill Clinton, March 1993, USA Today They all do it.... let's fire the entire lot and start over, with STRONG term limits...Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #15 January 4, 2007 In my two years as a Fed I can tell you what I learned. There ARE Feds that abuse their power. However, the VAST MAJORITY do not have the time or inclination to be listening to your cell phone ramblings, reading your email, or any other such nonsense. That article is about using the tap on a KNOWN organized crime boss. I seriously doubt anyone here but me has anything to worry about. Seriously folks..........there are WAY too many real bad guys out there for anyone to be tapping your phones. Unless you happen to land yourself on the federal "radar" somehow. That will take a LITTLE BIT more than bad partying habits or traveling too much. Edit- The REAL problem is people like Bill Clinton and MANY others that see themselves as VERY differen't from the "peasants." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #16 January 4, 2007 QuoteThe REAL problem is people like Bill Clinton and MANY others that see themselves as VERY differen't from the "peasants." That was my point, exactly - they've gone from being servants of the people to thinking themselves our masters. The role of the government is supposed to be to preserve the rights and freedoms of the citizens... now they seem to think they're supposed to protect us from ourselves... and the clueless, gaping maw of the public screams for more, as they suck at Big Mama FedGov's teat...Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zipp0 1 #17 January 4, 2007 Sometimes I think the whole 'digital revolution' came about to make it easier for Big Brother to keep tabs on us all. I may have to go old school just to feel like I have my privacy back. No internet(except for work and maybe a laptop with wireless and some war driving), no cell, and no credit or debit cards. -------------------------- Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #18 January 4, 2007 Quoteas they suck at Big Mama FedGov's teat... Well.........I can't say much about that as I have enjoyed MANY benefits from Uncle Sugar since 1991. I'm about to shove all the years of putting up with their crap right back down their throats though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akarunway 1 #19 January 4, 2007 "The REAL problem is people like George Bush and MANY others that see themselves as VERY differen't from the "peasants." >Fixed it for ya. Haven't figured out how to drawn the lines thru the letters yet. And did I mention Clinton got a blowjobI hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akarunway 1 #20 January 4, 2007 QuoteSometimes I think the whole 'digital revolution' came about to make it easier for Big Brother to keep tabs on us all. I may have to go old school just to feel like I have my privacy back. No internet(except for work and maybe a laptop with wireless and some war driving), no cell, and no credit or debit cards.Don't forget no bank accts. But soon they'll be doing away w/ cash so.... WE ARE FUCKED. Thank god or whomever I'll be dead by then. HopefullyI hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zipp0 1 #21 January 4, 2007 QuoteDon't forget no bank accts. But soon they'll be doing away w/ cash so.... WE ARE FUCKED. Thank god or whomever I'll be dead by then. Hopefully Anyone else notice how suspicious places are when you pay with cash nodays? They ALWAYS closely examine any bill over a $20, and they look at you like something is wrong when you pay with a $50 or higher bill. Also, anyone find it wrong that paying with cash for a plane ticket will cause you to be labeled as a possible terrorist? -------------------------- Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #22 January 4, 2007 Quote "The REAL problem is people like George Bush and MANY politicians and others that see themselves as VERY differen't from the "peasants." >Fixed it for ya. Haven't figured out how to drawn the lines thru the letters yet. And did I mention Clinton got a blowjob Fixed it for YOU, in turn.... Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Butters 0 #23 January 4, 2007 A problem ... Quote"...and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.""That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #24 January 4, 2007 QuoteFixed it for YOU, in turn.... You flip flopper you... at first you mentioned and went with JUST Clinton Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #25 January 4, 2007 QuoteQuoteFixed it for YOU, in turn.... You flip flopper you... at first you mentioned and went with JUST Clinton What can I say...I had to show the opposite side, to keep it "fair and balanced" Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
