Covert Surveillance Tracks Cell Phone Users

Digital Trends reports that London’s metropolitan police have deployed a covert surveillance system that has the ability to track cell phone users, gather data and even remotely shut off services. As the new technology masks itself as a fake phone network, civil liberty concerns are being raised across Britain, wrote Digital Trends.

As per the report, based on an article in the Guardian, London’s metropolitan police have been working with a Leeds-based company called Datong plc. The company overview indicates that Datong is a 37 year old company, which designs products for military, law enforcement and security agencies. The company has contracts with US government agencies such as the Secret Service, Bureau of Immigration as well as the Ministry of Defense.

According to Digital Trends, Datong recently demonstrated its products in London, showing how its devices could intercept SMS messages by masking as a false network. The transceiver, which the Metropolitan police have procured, is roughly the size of a suitcase and can be placed in a vehicle operated remotely.

“Classified as ‘Listed X,’ the device emits a signal that forces hundreds of cell phones each minute to release unique identity codes allowing user movement to be tracked,” wrote Digital Trends’ reporter Jeff Hughes (News - Alert). He added, “Datong’s systems also have the ability to send out a denial of service, which the company says can be used to cut off trigger’s to explosive devices.”

By UK law, covert surveillance is regulated by Ripa, an act that states warrants must be authorized and be proportionate and necessary; only in the interests of national security, serious crimes or economic stability is covert surveillance allowed, wrote Hughes.

The report quoted barrister Jonathan Lennon, a Ripa specialist, as saying, “There needs to be clarification on whether interception of multiple people’s communications — when you can’t even necessarily identify who the people are — is compliant with the act.”

Meanwhile, wrote Hughes, the Metropolitan Police Force has refused to comment on how the Datong technology is being utilized.