Calgary police sought computer hacking software
CPS declines to say whether force puts spyware to use in investigations
Leaked emails reveal the Calgary Police Service looked seriously last year at purchasing software to allow investigators to remotely hack cellphones and computers and to surreptitiously monitor activity on those devices even when encrypted.
While the head of the force’s electronic surveillance unit insists CPS decided not to purchase the spyware from the Italian company after a demonstration last November, he refused to say whether his officers are using a similar product acquired from another manufacturer.
“This is not something we are able to release,” Staff Sgt. Ryan Jepson said in an email response to questions.
“Investigative techniques and technologies is not something we publicly discuss in order to protect their effectiveness.”
While Jepson said CPS would only use this type of product if it was authorized by a court, a privacy advocate was aghast at the broad capabilities of the spyware and doubtful about whether judges possess the necessary technical expertise to knowledgeably approve and oversee how it might be used by police.
“It’s one thing to have a tap on someone’s phone and to know who they’re talking to,” said Linda McKay-Panos, executive director of the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre.
“This is totally ’Big Brother’ territory.”
The remote control service (RCS) software developed by Hacking Team at its Milan headquarters is capable of intercepting phone calls, text messages and passwords from compromised computers and phones, and can quietly turn on a target’s webcam and microphone.
E-mails and documents posted on WikiLeaks after the company’s servers were hacked show CPS was one of four law enforcement agencies in Canada — along with forces in Vancouver, Edmonton and the RCMP — who expressed interest in or tested the product.
The data dump after the July 5 breach shows Hacking Team sold its product to the FBI and Russian intelligence and that its clients include repressive regimes like Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
Searching through the one million plus emails, it seems Calgary investigators first expressed interest in the RCS product in mid-2011 when Cst. Shafik Punja wrote to ask for a demonstration.
“Where is the exploited data stored. On your servers or can I elect, as a customer, to send data directly to servers of my choice that I control?” Punja asked.
“I have both law enforcement and private sector clients that assist law enforcement and intelligence groups interested in this.”
The exchanges indicate that CPS officers first met Hacking Team officials at the National Technical Investigators’ Association annual conference in Memphis, Tennessee two years ago.
Last October, Cst. Shane Cross wrote the company to ask for a “ballpark figure” on what the technology would cost and to “quickly arrange” a further discussion and demonstration.
“Our service is currently exploring options for tools that encompass network penetration solutions with an end-to-end command and control centre capability,” Cross said.
A report and messages written by a Hacking Team field engineer show that on Nov. 24 he met with members of the CPS’ electronic surveillance unit at their Sunridge Way offices in the city’s northeast.
During the three-hour demonstration, Sergio Rodriguez- Solis writes that he showed investigators how the software could infect Android and Blackberry devices, record passwords, watch targets logging into Gmail and Facebook and even listen while they chatted with “partners in crime” on Skype.
“Very kind people, questions, more than 10 people attending,” Rodriguez- Solis wrote in an accompanying e-mail. “They were interested.” Jepson said he decided later not to purchase Hacking Team’s software because it did not fit with the unit’s operational needs.
While he refused to say whether CPS has acquired another spyware product instead, the service advertised recently for staff to work in the surveillance unit intercepting “highly confidential and sensitive conversations through a computer-based system.”
Corwin Odland, a CPS spokesman refused to elaborate on what system the ad is referring to, but he did say the posting was for an existing position.
“It is not new and is not part of any new initiative,” Odland said in a written response to questions.
Jepson also refused to provide statistics on how often his unit uses wiretap, but he did provide a link to a recently-released report that shows in 2013 police across Alberta applied for and received all 26 authorizations they sought from the court to intercept electronic communication as part of criminal investigations.
Kathleen Ganley, the newlyminted Justice Minister and Solicitor General, declined to be interviewed for this story, but she did issue a prepared statement.
“We rely on our police forces to keep our communities safe,” Ganley said.
“Any police use of surveillance technologies is subject to the Criminal Code and requires judicial authorization.”
Rod Fong, chairman of the Calgary police commission, said it is “responsible” of CPS to be constantly considering and exploring new technologies that would make officers more efficient and effective.
“As CPS determined that the (Hacking Team) software did not meet their operational needs, this matter was not brought to the commission’s attention,” Fong said in a prepared statement.
“While the commission does have an oversight role, these decisions (about acquiring surveillance technology), do not require (our) approval.”
If police need spyware to fight crime in a high-tech world, McKay-Panos said there needs to be a separate body to assist judges in providing civilian oversight so it’s not abused.
“It needs to be someone with technical know-how, it needs to be transparent,” she said.
“This technology is going to give police everything.”