Recent reports have shed light on the CIA's desire to hack mobile phones, with government agencies going so far as to create their own versions of the software used by Apple and other mobile phone makers devices. Other reports have also chronicled the use of technology that mimics cell phone towers, referred to as "stingrays," that connect to phones and download users' data. The scope of the spying efforts of the government may shock many citizens, but come as no surprise to the ACLU.
A previous investigation found that the U.S. Marshals Service program became fully functional in 2007 and uses aircraft equipped with cell tower simulators to locate phones linked to individuals under investigation. A single aircraft's flight can collect tens of thousands of people's information and location. These flights occur on a surprisingly regular basis.
"[The new information about the CIA] certainly raises troubling questions," said Nathan Wessler, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. "What legal authority are they using? Do they get warrants? If not, why? What are they doing to protect bystanders' privacy?"
But Wessler admits that the news didn't come as a shock, as reports of collusion at every level of government regarding the stingray technology.
"We know...that in some states there are agreements between the state police and local agencies to share their technology," he said. "We've seen the Marshals Service loaning stingray devices to local police. We've seen the FBI requiring local police departments to sign an agreement with the FBI whenever they want to buy their own stingray devices."
"We had seen evidence of other U.S. agencies buying the kits from the Harris Corporation [a major manufacturer of stingray technology] that would let them install these devices on planes, so we certainly knew it was possible," he said.
What did seem to shock Wessler was the scope of the program, how systematized the program appeared and the frequency of the flights.
"It raises the question of whether the CIA was effectively using U.S. citizens as guinea pigs to develop spy gear that was really developed for use overseas in war zones or espionage situations," he said.
Wessler also raised the question of whether or not technology originally designed for war should be used by local agencies to spy on their local communities.
"Just because our intelligence agencies know how to fly over Afghanistan and assemble a list of all the cellphones below them doesn't mean our domestic law enforcement agencies should be doing the same thing," he said.
But Wessler's overall takeaway was clear: "Every new revelation about this cellphone surveillance program underscores the need for transparency and real effective oversight."
