📝 usncan Note: How ICE Is Using Fake Cell Towers To Spy On People’s Phones
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ICE is using all manner of surveillance technologies in its deportation drive. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
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It’s been some time since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been seen using a tool known as a Stingray, or a cell-site simulator, in its attempts to find and remove undocumented immigrants. The tool tricks a phone into thinking it’s a cell tower, and when a suspect’s device connects, the cops can trace its location. Its use is controversial because anyone in the same area as the target is at risk of having their information exposed.
In a recently-unsealed search warrant reviewed by Forbes, ICE used such a cell-site simulator in an attempt to track down an individual in Orem, Utah. The suspect had been ordered to leave the U.S. in 2023, but is believed to still be in the country. Investigators learned last month that before going to Utah, he’d escaped prison in Venezuela where he was serving a sentence for murder, according to the warrant. He’s also suspected of being linked to gang activity in the country, investigators said.
When the government got the target’s number, they first got a warrant to get its location. However, the trace wasn’t precise–it only told law enforcement that the target was somewhere in an area covering about 30 blocks. That led them to asking a court for a Stingray-type device to get an accurate location.
The warrant was issued at the end of last month and it’s not yet known if the fugitive was found.
But the case shows that, despite having been criticized by civil rights groups for using Stingrays during the last Trump administration, ICE continues to use the technology. Earlier this year, new media publication Straight Arrow News said it had analysed “mobile network anomalies” around a Washington state protest against ICE raids that were consistent with Stingray use.
Forbes found contract records showing ICE purchased nearly $1 million worth of “cell site simulator vehicles” in May this year, indicating it’s taking the surveillance tool fully mobile. That was part of a contract first signed under the Biden administration in 2024.
ICE also has an active contract worth up to $4.4 million with the original Stingray manufacturer, Harris Corporation, for unspecified “equipment to determine the location of targeted mobile handsets.” That deal was also signed during the Biden years.
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THE BIG STORY:
This Billionaire’s AI Was Supposed To Speed Up Policing. It’s Not Going Well.
Tom Siebel, chief executive officer of C3.AI, during a panel session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg
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San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office spent $12 million on a sprawling AI surveillance system called Sherlock, designed to stitch together surveillance streams across as many as 16 different agencies in the jurisdiction.
Made by billionaire Tom Siebel’s C3 AI, it was supposed to drastically speed up police work, but three years into the project, cops tell Forbes they’re yet to see the benefits.
Per one staffer in 2023, “We’ve been working with them for two years and they have a barely functional product.” Since then, it’s unclear just how much the tech has progressed.
Stories You Have To Read Today
In a Forbes profile, Flock Safety shows off its drones, car tracking and AI-powered surveillance tools, all part of an effort to dislodge police tech giant Axon from the top of the market. “I plan to go take them out,” says CEO Garrett Langley.
ICE signed a contract with facial recognition company Clearview AI last week, worth nearly $10 million. It’ll be used, in part, to identify people assaulting ICE officers.
Former WhatsApp security lead Attaullah Baig has filed a lawsuit alleging Meta ignored big privacy and security problems within the messaging app. He claims thousands of Meta employees were able to view WhatsApp users’ profile pictures, location, group memberships and contact lists. Meta rejected the claims saying Baig was dismissed for poor performance and that his allegations were “distorted.”
Winner of the Week
Signal has launched encrypted backups for user chats. The feature will first be made available for Android phones, before being slowly rolled out to iPhone users. The archive requires a 64-character recovery key to access, but keep that code safe: Signal warns that if it’s lost, there’s no way to get it back.
Loser of the Week
Amnesty International claims that Pakistan is running one of the world’s most expansive domestic surveillance operations outside of China, using both Chinese and Western technology providers, who are enabling both mass snooping via the nation’s telecoms companies as well as widespread internet censorship.
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