[109740] in Cypherpunks
Re: Hobbiests arrested for monitoring MDTs
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Adam Shostack)
Fri Apr 2 23:45:26 1999
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 23:48:52 -0500
From: Adam Shostack <adam@homeport.org>
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
In-Reply-To: <19990402223531.A1673@die.com>; from Dave Emery on Fri, Apr 02, 1999 at 10:35:31PM -0500
Reply-To: Adam Shostack <adam@homeport.org>
So, what cop info was this? I've looked at the site a bit, can't find
anything of interest. Anyone have a mirror?
Adam
On Fri, Apr 02, 1999 at 10:35:31PM -0500, Dave Emery wrote:
| ----- 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
--
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once."
-Hume
