Analysis of wiretap stats

The State of Surveillance
Christopher Soghoian
Center for Cybersecurity Research
Indiana University

The state of surveillance(law enforcement)

Wiretaps in the US
Real-time interception of communications content.
Includes
Voice communications
Text messages / IM
Network traffic (think: tcpdump)
To get one, law enforcement must get a “super warrant”: probable cause +

The use of real-time, content intercepts (“wiretaps”) in the US continues to grow each year

Drugs are bad(If you value your privacy)

If you are going to break the law, and don’t want to be wiretapped, stick with something safer…

Like murder, bribery, or extortion

Major offense specified in intercept orders (2009)

Phone surveillance increases each year, while other forms all decline(due to more intercepts by states,not the federal government)

In 2009, 95% of all intercept orders were for a portable device

Electronic intercept orders used to be significant in number…..

But have plunged over the past few years….

To less than 5 per year.

What happened?

Network Wiretaps?
Law enforcement agencies are simply not performing real-time data network intercepts of communications content.
These stats do not cover FISA / intel agencies, who almost certainly are.
Law enforcement are instead relying on access to stored communications (cheaper, easier, etc).
Why tap your ISP in real-time when your email provider will readily give up the files later?

Analysis of wiretap stats

by csoghoian on Nov 17, 2010

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Analysis of wiretap stats — Presentation Transcript