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YR IN-FLIGHT WI-FI IS SPYING ON YOU
Apr. 19th, 2014 11:34 amAt least it is if yr flying in America.
According to Wired, companies who supply Wi-Fi services on airplanes are required by US law to comply with federal wiretap laws that require telecoms and terrestrial ISPs to assist law enforcement and the NSA in tracking users when so ordered.
No surprise there – there’s no reason to expect that in-flight Wi-Fi would be exempt from surveillance laws.
What IS surprising is that at least two companies – Gogo Wireless and Panasonic Avionics – have cut deals with the govt to voluntarily go well and above what the law requires them to do:
Privacy groups are alarmed that Gogo and other Wi-Fi providers are letting the Feds provide a wishlist of surveillance capabilities that they don’t legally have to put in. Gogo spokesman Steve Nolan has basically said it’s no big deal, don’t worry.
The problem is that, thanks to the current mishmash of NSA surveillance shenanigans and the tendency of both the FBI and NSA to advise telcos, ISPs and Google that they’re prohibited by law from talking about this stuff in public, there’s no way to no if Nolan is lying in order to avoid getting arrested.
Even the concessions could be the product of Gogo et al not wanting to get on the wrong side of the law on this, according to the ACLU:
So basically the upshot is this: the “additional capabilities” Gogo and other companies are installing for the FBI/NSA’s convenience could be relatively innocuous like a CAPTCHA function. Or it could be hoovering up all yr data to store in the NSA database. There’s just no way to know.
Isn’t this fun?
I believe I can spy,
This is dF
According to Wired, companies who supply Wi-Fi services on airplanes are required by US law to comply with federal wiretap laws that require telecoms and terrestrial ISPs to assist law enforcement and the NSA in tracking users when so ordered.
No surprise there – there’s no reason to expect that in-flight Wi-Fi would be exempt from surveillance laws.
What IS surprising is that at least two companies – Gogo Wireless and Panasonic Avionics – have cut deals with the govt to voluntarily go well and above what the law requires them to do:
The disclosure that GoGo voluntarily exceeded the requirements of CALEA appears in a letter to the FCC (.pdf) the company wrote in 2012. “In designing its existing network, Gogo worked closely with law enforcement to incorporate functionalities and protections that would serve public safety and national security interests,” Gogo attorney Karis Hastings wrote.
Although FCC rules “do not require licensees to implement capabilities to support law enforcement beyond those outlined in CALEA…,” Hastings noted, “[n]evertheless, Gogo worked with federal agencies to reach agreement regarding a set of additional capabilities to accommodate law enforcement interests. Gogo then implemented those functionalities into its system design.”
Although FCC rules “do not require licensees to implement capabilities to support law enforcement beyond those outlined in CALEA…,” Hastings noted, “[n]evertheless, Gogo worked with federal agencies to reach agreement regarding a set of additional capabilities to accommodate law enforcement interests. Gogo then implemented those functionalities into its system design.”
Privacy groups are alarmed that Gogo and other Wi-Fi providers are letting the Feds provide a wishlist of surveillance capabilities that they don’t legally have to put in. Gogo spokesman Steve Nolan has basically said it’s no big deal, don’t worry.
The problem is that, thanks to the current mishmash of NSA surveillance shenanigans and the tendency of both the FBI and NSA to advise telcos, ISPs and Google that they’re prohibited by law from talking about this stuff in public, there’s no way to no if Nolan is lying in order to avoid getting arrested.
Even the concessions could be the product of Gogo et al not wanting to get on the wrong side of the law on this, according to the ACLU:
Chris Soghoian of the American Civil Liberties Union, who first spotted the reference to expanded capabilities in the FCC documents, says law enforcement often leverages FCC threats of added rules to pressure companies into making concessions.
“I don’t think people understand the extent to which the FCC acts as the enforcer for the surveillance community,” he says. “The Gogo document and Panasonic documents really reflect this process of these companies sitting down with the government and making deals so the FCC wouldn’t get on their back. These are not agreements that are taking place in the sunlight. These are secret deals that are definitely not being made in the best interest of the public.”
“I don’t think people understand the extent to which the FCC acts as the enforcer for the surveillance community,” he says. “The Gogo document and Panasonic documents really reflect this process of these companies sitting down with the government and making deals so the FCC wouldn’t get on their back. These are not agreements that are taking place in the sunlight. These are secret deals that are definitely not being made in the best interest of the public.”
So basically the upshot is this: the “additional capabilities” Gogo and other companies are installing for the FBI/NSA’s convenience could be relatively innocuous like a CAPTCHA function. Or it could be hoovering up all yr data to store in the NSA database. There’s just no way to know.
Isn’t this fun?
I believe I can spy,
This is dF
