Met Police to extract suspects' mobile phone data

Met Police to extract suspects' mobile phone data

www.bbc.co.uk

The Metropolitan Police has implemented a system to extract mobile phone data from suspects held in custody.

The data includes call history, texts and contacts, and the BBC has learned that it will be retained regardless of whether any charges are brought.

The technology is being used in 16 London boroughs, and could potentially be used by police across the UK.

Campaign group Privacy International described the move as a "possible breach of human rights law".

(visit the link for the full news article)



Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
British Police Go Wild, London May 10th.

I am deeply sickened and annoyed by the way the police have been acting recently, which I will expand on in a minute..

I'm also annoyed by the way the police and the government have been playing 'cat and mouse' with each other.

There is a reason as to why the police now wish to take all your mobile info, and kewep it, should you be arrested by them.. I feel they have done this because of what happened in regards to the video footage of a gypsy camp being broken up..
full story for that here;

Media organisations have won a High Court battle over police orders to give up film of the evictions from the traveller site at Dale Farm in Essex.

The police claimed they needed the footage from organisations like the BBC and BSkyB to pursue prosecutions.

www.bbc.co.uk...

Collecting and keeping the phone data 'under the suspicion' of your phone being used for criminal activity is an easy excuse to tap into your private life and into the private lives of innocent people.

So, what else is annoying me about the police, well just the other day they all marched in London on protest due to the cuts being made..

British Police Go Wild, London May 10th

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Now here comes the crunch.. this one from Croydon,

Private security company offers to replace police

www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk...
This one is from the West Midlands

West Midlands Police private firm plan criticised

www.bbc.co.uk...
and this video of how PCSO's are apparently gaining power..

And this one from Exeter,

Council hires security to plug gaps in police cover

www.thisisexeter.co.uk...

So just why do the police feel they need to invade our privacy any further and keep, forever, anything the y feel they want to take?
If it turns out that the entire police force is going to be privatised, then just who is buying all this information because that is what it really boils down to, a massive data base of info relating to us all..

IMO, this has nothing to do with policing and more to do with data mining, money, power and control.

The British police force, once believed to be the best in the workld is being destroyed and broken down in order to make a profit..
Private security/police onyour doorstep 24/7 and you'll just have to do as your told.

This is way out of line already and it will only get worse..
This could be compared to the Nazi brown shirts jusat before WW2.. Especially as we seem to be so very close to another major war somewhere in the world.

www.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

They need to invent TrueCrypt for mobile devices!! They want the phone they can have it up their bums.

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


its an offense under UK law not to reveal the password or other information required to decrypt data when required so they'll get you one way or the other

reply to post by Maxatoria


You then have to weigh what is more important to you, the information on the phone or jail time. If the information is too valuable, then take the jail time. Thank God for the Fifth amendment here in the USA.

Just tell them you forgot the password. What can they do about that?

This raises another issue too:

What would happen if a code or virus ridden phone had its 'data' extracted and placed within the police database?

Besides this - it is rather fascist. The equivalent of completely searching a suspects house and mail and photo albums and private messages just for being in custody. And what if they find naked pictures of your wife or slightly incriminating yet private images of you smoking a doobery-doo with friends, does that then incriminate them?

Even if you're innocent?

Time to write an app.......

One button wipe of all texts, contacts and call logs. Make them get a @%$#%ing warrant

What's worse is the way they can usae suspicion in order to obtain what they want. It would appear that no matter what you were arrested for, they can use that excuse to get your data. It's the same principle they use to obtain your DNA, but all they need for that is to simply arrest you for 'something', guilty or not..

As for the collection of this information and its possible future use, consider the switch from police to private security firms;
Definition of police;

A body of persons making up such a department, trained in methods of law enforcement and crime prevention and detection and authorized to maintain the peace, safety, and order of the community.

www.thefreedictionary.com...

Definition of security;

3. Something that gives or assures safety, as: a. A group or department of private guards: Call building security if a visitor acts suspicious. b. Measures adopted by a government to prevent espionage, sabotage, or attack. c. Measures adopted, as by a business or homeowner, to prevent a crime such as burglary or assault: Security was lax at the firm's smaller plant. d. Measures adopted to prevent escape: Security in the prison is very tight.

www.thefreedictionary.com...

So we could go from something that offers peace of mind and will act if neeeded to something that locks down everything and everyone in order to completely stop anything ever happening in the first place.

A security force armed with all the data that the police collect could be very dangerous for all of us. That is, of course, if this is the route that this is going down.

IMO, it does seem as though the police are being made to do things in order to push the right buttons on the 'wrong people' in order to get a response of some kind.
And just today we see a report of a guy that has been freed from an 8 year jail term for being found not guilty ..

"They should have disclosed all the relevant evidence in their possession to my lawyers and they didn't.

www.bbc.co.uk...
The police do sometimes tend to get their own way when they want to get a conviction in order to look as though they are doing a good job and to balance their quotas... and the books..

And just found this one on todays news too;

Plans to contract out some elements of Surrey policing to private companies are to be put on hold until the autumn. Surrey's Chief Constable Lynne Owens said she wanted to delay the plans until after the London Olympics and to allow time for a consultation.

www.bbc.co.uk...

So there does seem to be major plans to get rid of the force in some respect and replace with private security..

Sorry for the use of quotes, but my ex-text button doesn't seem to be working too well...

reply to post by Mamatus


Now that is a brilliant idea..
Well done..

It would not be long for someone to come up with such a thing..

The only thing that worries me is the time it might take to wipe all the data off...
Would pulling the battery out stop the process?
If so, once you put the battery back in then you could still access whatever is left..

They would love my phone-It has about half a million pictures of my dogs on it,engaging in lawbreaking activities,such as stealing cheese from the kitchen and looking sheepish.

Sad that the cops will have to assign people to look at that...costs money spent better elsewhere IMO.

Even the cops are getting screwed by the government in the UK.
When that happens,something is very wrong.
We need good cops.

Don't tell me they can't afford it-the government are making a killing in this recession-on our behalf.
Tax on fuel,smokes,food etc is making them more money than ever!

now THIS is a step too far! What concerns me far more than this though is the fact that everyone will just bend over and take this new law like a little bi atch! I'm binning my blackberry I think, gonna get me an old school Nokia, no mobile internet and not send texts, if people want to get in touch then they can...shock horror...call me!

I know that doesn't solve everything BUT it gives them a whole lot less to nose through!

reply to post by snowgirl


I have a phone that is capable of so much more, but what do i use it for, the very occasional text, sometimes making calls, but mostly to answer calls to me... For a while now I have thought of just getting rid of it completely.

Write me a letter and send it in the post if you want to contact me.. I don't even really use email.
Not on that farce book thing.. or any of those space face junk either..

This couldbe one way to slow the system down.. don't use the tech and force people to use older methods..

Most comapnies use older methods (post) in order to demand money from you anyway

reply to post by Extralien


Had I the expertise I would do it myself. Maybe I should find a developer, I can fund it lol. Of course right before the app became profitable the Government would find some way to make such apps illegal

reply to post by Mamatus


But at least everyone with the app will have the opportunity to thwart any attempt at retrieving data until the government does get its way..

If it managed to. The police would have to look at every single phone to find out if you have the app or not, and even if you have, once you press the wipe button, there's no evidence of it being on there.. your phone must have malfunctioned and wiped itself.. or got magnetized/short circuit.. something... solar flare .. anything but a button press..

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

Just tell them you forgot the password. What can they do about that?

Waterboarding
Put a mattress over you and beat you through it leaves no bruising
But the worse one is they let you keep your smokes but not your lighter
And they refuse to give you a light
This is true torture
You will soon give up that password

Cran

Originally posted by Maxatoria
reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

 

its an offense under UK law not to reveal the password or other information required to decrypt data when required so they'll get you one way or the other

u dont have to tell the police nothing in the uk .... you can say "no comment "

Originally posted by Maxatoria
reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

 

its an offense under UK law not to reveal the password or other information required to decrypt data when required so they'll get you one way or the other

You can reveal the password so it panic-locks it so you've complied, but they can't get in.
It's specifically designed to combat totalitiarian regimes.

Detente, you don't have it, I don't have it comrade

reply to post by cranspace


I would not mind getting waterboarded as a result. I would sue for a few hundred million; totally worth it. Go ahead ask for that password Its up to you how much you wanna lose lol. Johhnny Cochrans daddy is gonna lay the smack down.

reply to post by nofear39


The Telecommuncations Act 2000 hid a very nasty section, that basically says, if you refuse to give up your passwords so that communications can be decrypted, you go directly to jail for 6 months. While a judge reviews the case, you don't actually get a trial over it. Its just... Straight to jail.

If after your 6 months, you still don't give up your password, you go down for another 6 months. Repeat, ad-infinitum.

A friend advises me the act was modified in 2005, to acknowlege that it is possible for a person to have forgotton their password, I am unsure how this aspect of it works.

So contary to popular belief, "no comment" will not work when they come demanding your password.

reply to post by Mamatus


A better app would be one wipe and the encryption key is erased effectively erasing the whole phone because the data would be secure and encrypted and no one would get to it. When you erase the key it accomplishes the same task but much faster for these emergency situations.