Bluetooth Surveillance Tool Added to List of Known Cache of DHS’ Surveillance Technology
Loaded on June 15, 2024
by Douglas Ankney
published in Criminal Legal News
June, 2024, page 31
Filed under:
Police State-Surveillance,
Electronic Surveillance.
Locations:
Texas,
United States of America.
by Douglas Ankney
The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has an impressive cache of surveillance technology that includes, inter alia, automated license plate readers (“ALPR”) and cell-site simulators (“CSS”). The latest tracking and surveillance revelation is that DHS and other law enforcement agencies have been using TraffiCatch since 2019.
Deployed in Texas, TraffiCatch detects WiFi and Bluetooth signals in moving cars for tracking purposes. Bluetooth devices consistently broadcast a Bluetooth Device Address that is either a public address or a random address. Over the lifetime of the device, public addresses do not change and are the easiest to track.
But more common are the random addresses that have multiple levels of privacy. These addresses change regularly. Unless a Bluetooth device with a random address has paired with a device that has a public address, it is hard to track. However, Jenoptik, the manufacturer of TraffiCatch, reports that data derived from Bluetooth is combined with ALPR, permitting law enforcement to track individuals who switch vehicles and change license plates.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) is already notoriously known for using CSS in violation of the law. CSS are devices that masquerade as legitimate cellphone towers, prompting cellphones within a certain radius to connect to the CSS instead of legitimate phone towers. The subterfuge allows law enforcement to track the user and his or her device. According to a report from DHS’s Inspector General, ICE and other agencies conduct surveillance using CSS without proper authorization and in violation of the law.
Source: EFF.org
More from this issue:
- Forensic Genetic Genealogy: Law Enforcement’s Rapid Adoption Outpacing Adoption of Laws and Ethical Guidelines Regulating Its Use, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Files Civil Rights Action on Behalf of Wrongly Convicted Florida Man Who Spent 45 Years in Prison, by Sam Rutherford
- California Supreme Court: Defendant Has Due Process Right to Notice of Prosecution’s Election to Seek Enhanced Sentence in Order to Make Key Decisions About Defense, by Douglas Ankney
- University of New Hampshire Designs a Simpler, Cost-Effective Test to Identify Touch DNA, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Kansas Supreme Court Announces Clarification of Framework for Deciding Whether Confession Is Voluntary and Overrules Precedents That Held Reliability of Confession Is Factor to Be Considered, by Douglas Ankney
- Reform-Minded Prosecutors Face Backlash for Prosecuting Bad Cops, by Sam Rutherford
- Decedent’s End-of-Life Condition and Toxicology May Alter Time-of-Death Estimation, by Douglas Ankney
- Fourth Circuit Vacates Where Instructions Failed to Inform Jury That Mens Rea of ‘Knowingly or Intentionally’ Applies to ‘Except as Authorized’ in 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), by Douglas Ankney
- Junk Science Convicted an Innocent Sailor, DNA Exonerated Him Decades Later with the Help of the Innocence Project, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Third Circuit Denies Prosecutor’s Claim of Absolute Immunity Where Wrongfully Convicted Man’s Complaint Alleged Facts Sufficient to Support Finding That Prosecutor’s Actions Served ‘Investigatory Function’, by Douglas Ankney
- New York Court of Appeals: Dismissal Required Where Prosecution Failed to Explain Repeated Requests for Post-Readiness Adjournment, by Sam Rutherford
- Delaware Supreme Court: Warrant That Authorized Search of ‘Any and All’ Data of Named Files on Cellphone Is Invalid General Warrant That Also Failed to Include Temporal Limitation, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Parole Board Not Statutorily Required to Consider ‘Demonstrated Maturity and Rehabilitation’ When Deciding Whether to Release Sex Offenders Who Received Adult Sentences for Crimes Committed as Juveniles, by Sam Rutherford
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Trial Court’s Exclusion of Expert Testimony on iPhone’s Frequent Location History Data as Not Sufficiently Reliable Under Daubert-Lanigan Standard, by Douglas Ankney
- DOJ Creates Database to Track Federal Law Enforcement Officers Accused of Misconduct, by Sam Rutherford
- Misuse of Facial Recognition Technology Threatens Everyone, by Michael Thompson
- Idaho Supreme Court Admitting Video of Child-Witness Interviews at Trial Violates Confrontation Clause, by Sam Rutherford
- Bluetooth Surveillance Tool Added to List of Known Cache of DHS’ Surveillance Technology, by Douglas Ankney
- California Court of Appeal: Statistical Evidence Showing Racial Disparity Combined With Evidence Showing Non-Minority Defendants Charged With Lesser Crimes Establishes Prima Facie Case Under California Racial Justice Act, by Douglas Ankney
- AC Units and DNA, by Douglas Ankney
- Indiana Supreme Court Clarifies Framework for Determining When Courts May Apply Cash Bail to Public-Defender Costs and to Fines, Costs, and Fees, by Douglas Ankney
- Changes to Appeals of Pretrial Detention Decisions Prompts Illinois Supreme Court to Adopt Changes to Appellate Rules, by Douglas Ankney
- First Circuit: Defendant Did Not Understand Consequences of Guilty Plea Because District Court and Counsel Led Him to Reasonably Believed Plea Agreement Would Result in Sentence Below Applicable Mandatory Minimum, by David Reutter
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Votes Unanimously to Restrict Use of Acquitted Conduct at Sentencing, by Sam Rutherford
- Report Finds Inaccurate Field Drug Tests Major Cause of Wrongful Convictions, by Matthew Clarke
- New Research on Predictive Models for Pediatric Head Injuries, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Government Accountability Office Issues a Report on DOJ and DHS Use of Facial Recognition Technology, by Michael Thompson
- Oregon Supreme Court Rules Police Questioning of Probationer in Probation Officer’s Secure Office Absent Miranda Warning Constitute ‘Compelling Circumstances’ and Suppresses Statements, by Anthony Accurso
- Landmark Drug Possession Reform Based on Unproven Allegations Reversed in Oregon, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Push Notifications Pull to the Forefront, by Michael Thompson
- Second Chances: California Clears Criminal Records, Including Violent Crimes, by Jo Ellen Nott
- New York Court of Appeals Overturns Harvey Weinstein’s Convictions Based on Trial Court Rulings That Admitted Prejudicial ‘Prior Bad Acts’ Into Evidence and Violated His Right to Testify in His Own Defense, by Richard Resch
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- California Appeals Court Sustains Amendments to CDCR that Narrow Youth Parole Eligibility Rules, July 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, July 1, 2026
- California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants Who Exercise Right to Jury Trial on Aggravating Circumstances Are Entitled to Closing Argument by Counsel on Those Factors, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Holds Federal Habeas Court May Not Consider Post-Trial DNA Evidence That Was Never Presented to Jury When Assessing Whether False Informant Testimony Influenced Verdict, July 1, 2026
- Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Announces Six-Factor Test for Evaluating Presentence Motions to Withdraw Guilty Pleas Under Rule 32(e), Holds Binding Plea Agreement Does Not Extinguish Defendant’s Ability to Seek Withdrawal, July 1, 2026
- New Jersey Lawmakers Pass “Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act”, July 1, 2026
- Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, July 1, 2026
- California Supreme Court Announces Amended § 1170(b) Applies Retroactively to Plea-Bargained Upper Term Sentences, July 1, 2026
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Betts Decision Invalidating 2011 SORA as Ex Post Facto Punishment Applies Retroactively to Defendants on Collateral Review, July 1, 2026
- South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Formal Adoption of Fourth Circuit’s Three-Step Cheek Framework for Evaluating Improper Third-Party Contacts With Jurors Under Remmer, Reverses Murdaugh Murder Convictions, and Overrules Ethier Regarding Juror Testim, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Surveillance for Sale: The Data Broker Loophole and the Fourth Amendment After Chatrie, July 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Federal Funds, Tainted Funds.
- SCOTUS Announces Accessing Google Location History Data Constitutes a Fourth Amendment Search, Holding That Neither Brief Duration Nor Third-Party Storage Negates Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Cellphone Location Information, July 1, 2026. Particularity Requirement, Probable Cause, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Electronic Surveillance.
- Passive Data Transforms Smart Devices Into Covert Witnesses in a Silent Surveillance State, July 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Police State-Surveillance, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Electronic Surveillance, Exclusionary Rule.
- The Constitution for Sale: FBI Confirms Resumption of Data Broker Dragnets, June 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Warrantless Searches, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights.
- Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Due Process Risks of Automated Traffic Enforcement, May 1, 2026. Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Authentication/Identification, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- Beyond Geofence Warrants: Chatrie, Reverse-Location Surveillance, and the Fourth Amendment Fight Over Digital Dragnets, May 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Electronic Surveillance.
- Oregon Supreme Court Announces Article I, Section 9, of State Constitution Protects Privacy in Internet Browsing Conducted Over Public Wi-Fi Networks, April 1, 2026. Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance, State Constitutional Claims, Suppression.
- The “Free Trial” Police State, March 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Use of Drones.
- Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, Feb. 1, 2026. Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail, Censorship, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance.
- Flock’s Gunshot Sensors Are Expanding to “Distress” Sounds, Feb. 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Recordings, Privacy Act/Rights.
