DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — Military aircraft in Texas were outfitted with devices last year that allowed them to spy on cellphones.
The Texas Observer reports the surveillance software was installed to detect drug trafficking operations and was able to determine the locations and data processed by cellphones, including numbers called, text messages and photographs. The Observer says a $373,000 contract with Digital Receiver Technology of Maryland was funded by Texas drug asset forfeiture money.
Privacy advocates are troubled by the report because the way the devices work is to mimic cellphone towers and connect with every smartphone within a certain area. Private data from people who are not under investigation are scooped up as well the information from drug trafficking-related suspects.
The aircraft involved in the surveillance are two Texas National Guard RC-26 planes employed for counternarcotics operations at the US-Mexico border.
The U.S. Justice Department requires a warrant before the surveillance can be used in criminal investigations and all data collected not pertaining to criminal suspects must be deleted within 30 days of its collection.
