Items tagged with law-enforcement

The Oakland Sherriff’s Office in Michigan is warning parents about the NameDrop feature of Apple’s iPhones. This feature is found on the smartphone maker’s latest iOS release, iOS 17. Apple says that “NameDrop allows users to easily share contact information by simply bringing their iPhones together, or by bringing an... Read more...
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) recent petitioned for and has been approved to deploy robots that can utilize deadly force under specific circumstances. This announcement has quite obviously created a lot of chatter, especially in the San Francisco community. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of... Read more...
On Monday, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agents raided James Zhong’s house in Gainesville, Georgia back in November 2021. The raid, which was authorized by a search warrant, resulted in the seizure of 50,676 Bitcoin. After... Read more...
While a push toward privacy is great for the average person, it is also simultaneously great for criminal gangs. Using secure messaging systems, these gangs can secretly communicate plans for drug shipments or killings worldwide. However, if law enforcement is inside these messaging apps, then the criminals can be... Read more...
In an investigation into the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department, four people have now been indicted for bribery associated with obtaining a concealed carry gun license. One of those four people indicted is Apple’s Chief Security Officer Thomas Moyer. The court date is set for January 11, 2021, and all four could... Read more...
From personal devices to more broad applications, facial recognition and AI are becoming a large part of all types of technology and applications. Earlier this year, Amazon banned law enforcement from using its facial recognition software. The hope was that legislation could be passed to prevent law enforcement's use... Read more...
Amazon says that customer data requests from law enforcement agencies around the United States increased significantly during the first half of 2020. Amazon unveiled statistics on the number of customer data requests from government agencies during its latest transparency report published late last week. The figures... Read more...
You might think that a criminal planning a bank robbery would at least do a little research beforehand; rule numero uno is that you never rent the getaway vehicle in your own name. An alleged bank robber named Luca Mangiarano clearly didn't do his research. Police allege that 19-year-old Mangiarano robbed a BBVA... Read more...
Is the Uber you just hailed trying to evade the police? It appears that Uber was using a tool called Greyball to elude law enforcement investigations and irate intrenched competition like traditional taxi companies. Greyball utilizes data collected from Uber’s app in order to root out and circumvent law enforcement... Read more...
Last summer, we learned about a super-invasive piece of hardware called "StingRay" which law enforcement can put to use to keep an eye on cellular communications in a given area. Since then, those who make use of StingRay have wanted nothing more than for us to forget about it, and in some cases have tried to deny its... Read more...
The NYPD is reportedly testing Google Glass for use with its patrol officers. “We signed up, got a few pairs of the Google glasses, and we’re trying them out, seeing if they have any value in investigations, mostly for patrol purposes,” a “ranking New York City law enforcement official”... Read more...
Like many other tech companies, Apple is publishing a data request transparency report so its users will have a better sense of the number of inquiries law enforcement makes about the company’s users and their data, and like those other companies, Apple is somewhat hamstrung, bound by law to keep details about... Read more...