Police Are Seeking More Digital Evidence From Tech Companies

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U.S. law enforcement agencies are increasingly asking technology companies for access to digital evidence on mobile phones and apps, with about 80 percent of the requests granted, a new study found. The report released Wednesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found local, state and federal law enforcement made more than 130,000 requests last year for digital evidence from six top technology companies — Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc., Verizon Communications Inc.’s media unit Oath and Apple Inc.

 If results from telecom and cable providers Verizon, AT&T Inc., and Comcast Corp. are added in, the number jumps to more than 660,000. The requests covered everything from the content of communications to location data and names of particular users.
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Her Fitbit may be the key to finding a missing University of Iowa woman

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Investigators hope data from a missing Iowa woman’s Fitbit may give them clues to her whereabouts after her disappearance last week.

Mollie Tibbetts, 20, was last seen on July 18 near Brooklyn, a small community an hour east of Des Moines, according to the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office.
On the day she disappeared, Tibbetts’ brother dropped her off at her boyfriend’s house so she could dog-sit, reported HLN, CNN’s sister network. She was last spotted jogging that evening, wearing gym shorts, a black sports bra and running shoes, the sheriff’s office said.
Days after her disappearance, the search for the woman has intensified. The FBI joined the investigation this week, devoting as many as 15 agents to the search that has involved an army of volunteers.
Read More from CNN Here

South Carolina has new ally in war on cell phones

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Cell phones are weapons of mass destruction in South Carolina prisons. That’s what Robert Johnson, a former officer with the S.C. Dept. of Corrections (SCDC), told a group of lawmakers Thursday in Columbia.

Johnson was shot six times in his home after a hit on him was ordered from inside prison walls. Johnson was there Thursday to testify on behalf of the Bryan Stirling, SCDC Director, asking for more prison funding in the war on contraband. “They need to see that there is a victim. I am the face of the victim,” Johnson said. “When you have inmates having access to unmonitored cellphones you are going to have problems.” They are expensive problems for South Carolina taxpayers, Stirling explained.

A managed access system to block illegal cell phone use? $522,000, and that’s just at one prison, Lee Correctional.

A system to detect drones flying in contraband? Another $240,000.

50-foot netting at 11 institutions around the state? Nearly $9,000,000.

“These folks are incarcerated physically, but virtually, they are out there and that’s a problem,” Stirling said.

But Stirling, Johnson and the South Carolina prison system aren’t fighting their battle against contraband alone.

Read More from ABC Here

iPhones, iPads worth $29G stolen from Apple Store in Southern California

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Five men stole iPhones and iPads worth about $29,000 from an Apple Store in Southern California on Monday night, police said.

Police released a video showing the men, dressed in hoodie sweaters, strolling into the store and then making away with the Apple devices at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Orange County.  The group swiped iPhones and iPads from the displays and fled the store, Costa Mesa police Sgt. Mike Manson said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The crime happened about 20 minutes before the store’s 9 p.m. closing time, police said. The men were seen driving toward Interstate 405 in a silver Infiniti sedan, Manson said.   The crime was regarded as a burglary because the suspects did not show any weapons, police said. “There were no injuries and no weapons involved,” Manson said, according to the Orange County Register.

Read More from Fox News Here

T-Mobile Adds 70 Countries to International Data, Text Plan

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T-Mobile this week announced the addition of 70 more countries to the list of nations covered by its international data and texting platform.

The move brings the total number of counties with unlimited text and data under T-Mobile ONE plans to more than 210. T-Mobile service in the additional countries will begin Sunday.

The carrier also debuted a daily data pass for international travelers that will be available in those countries as of Aug. 1. The pass would cost $5 per day and allow customers to access 512 MB of 4G LTE data and unlimited calling.

Read More from Wireless Week Here