NSA Transfers Spy Gadgets to Local Police Departments

AllGov
May. 19, 2015

For those of a certain generation, one of the best childhood memories is the day the Sears Christmas catalog arrived in the mail. Kids eagerly grabbed the book, which was at least an inch thick, and started their holiday gift lists.

Now local law enforcement agencies can experience that same sense of anticipation and unbridled joy as they choose which spy equipment they want from Uncle Sam’s Big Technology Wish Book, or as it’s officially known, the National Security Agency 2014 Technology Catalog (pdf).

The National Security Agency (NSA) is offering technology to local law enforcement agencies, including programs that pick different voices out of a crowd; cryptographic key generation; transmitter location; and even one that can facilitate the sorting of large amounts of data, such as that that might be gathered in a cell tower dump. Some of this technology can be used in conjunction with devices such as a Stingray, a cell tower mimicking device provided to some agencies by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Stingrays allow a user to glean identification data from a cell-phone user.

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