NSA, CIA Team Up, Tap Cell Phones to Find Drone Strike Targets

Drones have changed warfare forever. Governments that possess them can now silently kill virtually anyone from the safety of a desk miles away, without warning and without risking the lives of any personnel. Such lethal convenience presents new challenges for human rights advocates, as governments sometimes use deadly force against innocent people without due process.

The business magazine Fast Company recently published an article pointing out the fact that the Central Intelligence Agency can target anyone for a drone strike by tracking the geolocation of the individual’s cell phone with the help of the National Security Agency. Allegedly, some cell phones can even be tracked while powered down. As smart phones are fast becoming a crucial part of modern life, most people are now holding a device that allows them to be targeted by drones.

Allegedly, Powered-Down Cell Phones Can Also Be Tracked

Fast Company referenced a Washington Post article which suggests that the NSA can track some types of cell phones, even after the devices have been powered off, “By September 2004, a new NSA technique enabled the agency to find cellphones even when they were turned off. JSOC troops called this ‘The Find,’ and it gave them thousands of new targets, including members of a burgeoning al-Qaeda-sponsored insurgency in Iraq, according to members of the unit.” The NSA so routinely tracked drone strike targets for the CIA that the organization’s employees took on the disturbing motto, “We Track ’Em, You Whack ’Em.”

It’s worth noting that the article doesn’t suggest that the NSA has the ability to track every single type of turned-off cell phone. Fast Company specified that “Because many phones have chips that stay on even after a battery has been removed, tracking powered-down phones is within the realm of possibility.” This suggests that certain phones have specific hardware components that can be tracked after a battery is removed, and others do not. Consumers should encourage manufacturers to develop cell phones that do not feature such easily-tracked components.

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In Case of Rogue Drone Strike

If you ever find that you have been wrongly placed on a government kill list without due process, it might be a good idea to ditch your smartphone somewhere remote where no one would be harmed in the potentially forthcoming blast. Now that drones have been let out of Pandora’s Box, all governments worldwide will eventually gain access to them. Americans may someday find themselves targeted by drones sent by foreign governments.

Weaponized drones allow government officials to use deadly force without having to carry out the grisly business in person. These lethally convenient tools give victims no warning or means of self-defense whatsoever. Due to the drone war’s many innocent casualties, people in Pakistan and Yemen fear that they could be struck by a Hellfire missile at any time. Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a 16-year old American citizen, was erroneously killed in a drone strike.

Since more and more governments are beginning to use drone technology, innovators in the marketplace should eventually respond to rising demand and develop tech tools to protect innocent people from drone strikes. In the meantime, it appears that many governments have the ability to track down and kill anyone holding a cell phone.

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