More U.S. government agencies are using the Stingray Surveillance Equipment to track and monitor the activities of Americans. The latest agency to tap the system is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The Guardian reports that the IRS became the 13th federal agency to own the equipment which are disguised as cellphone towers designed to retrieve content and metadata of mobile phones in the area. The acquisition by the IRS of the "cell-site stimulators" is an indicator of how pervasive the device is, says American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney Nate Wessler.
IRS made two payments to Harris Corporation, one of the manufacturers of the spying equipment, in 2009 and 2012, during which the tax agency upgraded its Stingray II to Hailstorm, which is a more advanced version on the equipment. The IRS spent $65,652 for the upgrade and another $6,000 for training, reports The Guardian.
The equipment is used by 2,000 to 3,000 special agents who do criminal investigations. They are authorized to put in PIN register orders, needed to use the Stingray. According to Mark Matthews, ex-deputy commissioner for services and enforcement of IRS, by using PEN register devices, the Stingray becomes full wiretaps by just inserting a headphone jack, reports Fortune. The PEN register is obtained through a low-level court order.
But he says his IRS contacts appear not to be using the Stingray, which could mean the equipment is being saved for later use to probe more serious cases such as money laundering, drug syndicates and terrorists.