Who Would Have Thought That the IRS Had Stingray Surveillance Tech

Mark Matthews, a former deputy commissioner for services and enforcement at the agency who now works for the law firm Caplin and Drysdale, said that while he attends many conferences on IRS and tax law enforcement, he had not heard any scuttlebutt about the agencys use of Stingray. Harris Corporation, one of the many companies to manufacture Stingray, provided the invoice, which stated the IRS has invested $65,652 into upgrading a Stingray II to a HailStorm, which is a more powerful version and costs $6,000 for training from Harris Corporation. Regardless of how they’re being used, it’s another example of how widespread such surveillance techniques have become in recent years – and it sounds like the IRS only needs a a low-level court order called a PEN register (or a “trap and trace”) to get permission to use the Stingray.

Along with the IRS, the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and at least 10 other federal agencies are known to have used the device.

Stingrays and similar devices are known as IMSI-catchers or “cell-site simulators” and are about the size of a briefcase.

In addition to the federal agencies, 56 state or local police in 22 states and the District of Columbia own Stingrays, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, but a lack of transparency around the use devices makes it virtually impossible to know the true scale. This also grants the use of StingRays.

The equipment is used by 2,000 to 3,000 special agents who do criminal investigations.

Whether the IRS is actively and frequently using these things or just chose to blow a few surplus budget on a few new tech is unclear, but that fact that agency has any at all just goes to show how far the devices have spread.

The IRS’ use of the technology was revealed on Monday by the Guardian. “But I would stress: it follows the Justice Department rules, it requires a court order and it requires probable cause with regard to criminal investigations”.

Other federal agencies known to use the technology include the FBI, the NSA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Agency. There was always a little slot where you could put in a headphone jack which could turn the device into a full wiretap, for which they did not have warrant clearance and they said, Trust us.

Koskinen told the committee that the technology allowed the IRS to see point-by-point where communications are taking place, but it doesn’t allow the agency to listen in on the actual conversations.