Editor’s Note: The author of this article works full-time in law enforcement in a major metropolitan area of the United States, within a state that has used StingRay devices for various investigations. Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, his article has been published under a pseudonym.
It’s safe to assume our readers fall into one of two groups: you know your smartphone tracks you constantly without your permission, or you’re unaware of the potentially serious privacy risks from the neat little device in your pocket. Being in the latter category doesn’t make you wrong — most people tend not to think about things that haven’t affected their lives yet, or dwell on dangers they believe are outside their control. However, when you’re in a particular line of work, the thoughts and ideas mentioned above constantly run through your mind. As writers in this industry, we often joke about being on government watch lists, but those jokes lose their humor when Big Brother may actually be watching.
If you’ve been watching cases of domestic surveillance in the United States over the last 20 years, you may have heard references to a surveillance device known as a StingRay. So, what is the StingRay, you might ask? Well, it’s not the animal that killed Steve Irwin. It’s a whole different animal in terms of what it can do. Keep in mind that some of this information can get pretty technical,
