[109736] in Cypherpunks
Hobbiests arrested for monitoring MDTs
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Dave Emery)
Fri Apr 2 22:53:48 1999
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 22:35:31 -0500
From: Dave Emery <die@die.com>
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Mail-Followup-To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Reply-To: Dave Emery <die@die.com>
----- Forwarded message from "John T. Ward" <JTWard01@aol.com> -----
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 21:20:04 EST
From: "John T. Ward" <JTWard01@aol.com>
Subject: Bill Cheek arrested!!
To: SCAN-L@UAFSYSB.UARK.EDU
All, this is from page A31 of Friday's Long Island Newsday newspaper.
Feds: Man Eavesdropped on Police / Agents say he posted cops' info
on Web site
By Hugo Kugiya. STAFF WRITER
The U.S. Secret Service and Nassau County police arrested an
unemployed electronics enthusiast from Kings Park after he intentionally
intercepted communication sent and received by the mobile data terminals
installed in police cruisers, federal agents said.
Keith Knipschild, a former NYNEX employee, was arrested Wednesday in
his home at 29 Amapola Lane for intercepting information and posting
some of it on his Web site, http://www.knip.com, agents said. Police use
mobile data terminals to check for outstanding warrants, review driving
records and to send emergency information they might not want to
broadcast across police scanners, such as details of an ongoing
surveillance or a planned search.
An affidavit from a federal agent found that Knipschild's Web site
had 93 pages of police transmissions from March 12, which included
criminal histories and warrants, motor-vehicle checks, medical
information about victims, and witness statements. Nassau police
confirmed the information was transmitted by police on that day.
Investigators say a confidential source led them to Knipschild, who
could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Federal investigators said three satellite dishes, ranging in size
from 18 inches to 12 feet in diameter, as well as a 40-foot radio tower
were discovered on Knipschild's property. Calls to federal authorities
seeking comment were not returned yesterday. Details about the
disposition of the case were not available.
Federal documents indicate Knipschild's Web site includes
information of interest to electronic enthusiasts, with links to Web
sites about scanners, satellites and dishes, and amateur radio.
Federal investigators said Knipschild used an illegal electronic
device to intercept police communications. In a related case, the Secret
Service have arrested a San Diego couple, Bill and Cindy Cheek, on a New
York warrant charging they sold such illegal devices on the Internet to
intercept police communications. The Secret Service said one of its
undercover agents purchased a device from the Cheeks, who shipped it to
New York. Details were not readily available yesterday.
Mobile data terminals send and receive information by radio
frequencies, which are encoded into a digital or binary format, one that
is not available to the public. Furthermore, these terminals are
password-protected.
----- End forwarded message -----
--
Dave Emery N1PRE, die@die.com DIE Consulting, Weston, Mass.
PGP fingerprint = 2047/4D7B08D1 DE 6E E1 CC 1F 1D 96 E2 5D 27 BD B0 24 88 C3 18
