The existence of the 'guide for obtaining data from carriers' created by the FBI is clear, and details such as the type of data and retention period are also available.
Law enforcement agencies use official warrants and court orders to obtain data such as smartphone location information from carriers in the process of criminal investigations and evidence gathering. Motherboard, a new overseas media, explained the contents of the 'Guidelines for obtaining data from telecommunications carriers' created by the FBI.
Here's the FBI's Internal Guide for Getting Data from AT & T, T-Mobile, Verizon
This time, Motherboard obtained the FBI's Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST) in 2019, which was obtained through a disclosure request by the Property of the People , a non-profit organization that aims to improve transparency by obtaining government documents. This is a presentation created by the research team). CAST analyzes call data and base stations and supports not only FBI but also state and local law enforcement agencies, and the activity includes data on 'where the smartphone was at a specific time'. It also includes collecting from carriers, 'providing expert testimony' and 'field surveys to find out what the base station actually covers'.
Documents created by CAST explain legal procedures such as court orders and search warrants for obtaining data from carriers, and operating procedures for CAST's unique mobile phone data visualization tool 'CAST Viz'. .. CASTViz seems to be a tool that quickly plots detailed call records and base station data to investigate the case, and it is said that it is provided free of charge from CAST to law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Nate Wesler, Deputy Director of the American Civil Liberties Union 's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, wonders what processes are built into CASTViz and what errors can occur. Pointed out that is being thrown. In addition, the document prepared by CAST added that the maps and analyzes generated by CASTViz should not be brought to court unless the accuracy is verified, and the testimony should be done through a qualified expert.
Also, in the document, how to request data from a virtual mobile network operator (MVNO) that does not have its own line, how to obtain the location information of a prepaid mobile phone that can be disposable without a contract, General Motors Motherboard says it also describes how to get information from the in-vehicle system OnStar.
In addition, the CAST document also describes the types of data that can be obtained from mobile carriers such as
Looking at the table below, AT & T holds 'Call Detail Records,' 'Cell Site,' 'Tower Dumps,' etc. for seven years. You can see that T-Mobile holds similar data for two years, Sprint for 18 months, and Verizon and US Cellular for one year. Wesler points out that AT & T has a particularly long data retention period, saying 'I can't think of a business reason to retain it this long.'
AT & T also states that it will retain 'Internet / Web Browsing' data for one year. When Motherboard asked AT & T what exactly 'Internet / Web browsing' meant, a spokeswoman said, 'Like all companies, we have legitimate warrants and other compulsory laws. It is required by law to comply with the demands. Our response is in compliance with the law. '
In another section of the document, AT & T does not verify the accuracy of the data, so law enforcement must use the data with caution, and Verizon has a 'new location tool' that law enforcement can use. It is also explained that there is. A Verizon spokeswoman told Motherboard, 'The new location tools are used by our security team in response to legitimate warrants and urgent requests, such as the disappearance of armed fugitives and children. It is used to respond to incidents. As is common in the industry, this tool uses network-based base station location information, and other major providers use a similar approach. ' Said.
Motherboard also asked the FBI for comment, but there was no response.
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