Carrier IQ & FBI Sitting In a Tree, Report Shows

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The Carrier IQ scandal continues today with a new, albeit not a really surprising, episode. Apparently the FBI was aware of what the Carrier IQ technology is able to do, and the Bureau is not willing to reveal anything regarding Carrier IQ just yet.

Following a Freedom of Information Request for “Manuals or Documentation Regarding Accessing Carrier IQ Data” from Mackruck, the FBI denied to offer such information citing a current investigation which could be hindered in case the Bureau would reveal such details:

A recent FOIA request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for “manuals, documents or other written guidance used to access or analyze data gathered by programs developed or deployed by Carrier IQ” was met with a telling denial. In it, the FBI stated it did have responsive documents – but they were exempt under a provision that covers materials that, if disclosed, might reasonably interfere with an ongoing investigation.

It is not known at this time whom the FBI is investigating or whether Carrier IQ itself is being investigated by the feds. The publication believes that FBI is rather using Carrier IQ technology for its own investigations:

What is still unclear is whether the FBI used Carrier IQ’s software to in its own investigations, whether it is currently investigating Carrier IQ, or whether it is some combination of both – not unlikely given the recent uproar over the practice coupled with the U.S. intelligence communities reliance on third-party vendors. The response would seem to indicate at least the former, since the request was specifically for documents related directly to accessing and analyzing Carrier IQ data.

In an earlier post, we did suggest, half-jokingly, that the kind of capabilities Carrier IQ software offers could be used to spy on people, and it looks like we were not that far from the truth. At the same time it’s understandable to see the FBI unwilling to comply with a FOI request especially considering the ongoing War on Terror the organization has been fighting for a few years now.

Hopefully future investigations into Carrier IQ practices will offer us more details about the way Carrier IQ data was used by the FBI, if that’s the case, and we’re certainly interested to see what various U.S. and international officials will have to say about the FBI’s proven involvement with this matter.