Media Fields Journal no. 11 (2016)

Surveillance from the Middle On Interception, Infrastructure, and the Material

Flows of Asynchronous Communication

Jason Farman InAugust2014,PopularSciencepublishedastorythatquicklyspreadtoothernewsvenuesandonlinesites.Titled“MysteriousPhonyCellTowersCouldbeInterceptingYourCalls,”thereportdetailedthediscoveryofatleastseventeeninterceptorcelltowersintheUnitedStatesthattrickedmobiledevicesintobelievingtheywereconnectingtotheircarriers’cellantennas.1Eachinterceptedphonewasinsteadconnectingtoadummytowerthat,aftercollectinginformationfromthephone,passeditovertothe“real”tower.Thestorydevelopedforseveralweeks,asmoreandmoreoftheseinterceptortowerswerediscoveredby“ultra-secure”mobilephonesthatcouldidentifythesepseudo-towers’attemptstointerceptthecellsignals.Membersofthepublicbegantoformulatetheoriesaboutwhowassettinguptheseinterceptortowersandwhattheirmotiveswere.Newspapersandonlinenewssitesranstorieswithheadlinessuchas,“Arethemysterious“interceptor”celltowersthehandiworkofforeignentities?”2Commentsinthesereportsexplodedwithspeculationaboutwhosetuptheseinterceptortowers,fromterroristorganizationsanddomesticdrugcartelstotheNationalSecurityAgencyandtheverycorporationwhoidentifiedthe

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mysterytowerswithitsultra-securemobilephones.Itseemedlikeeveryonewantedtoknowwhowassurveillingtheirmobilephoneusageandwhy.ThemysteryoftheseinterceptortowerswasactuallysolvedthreeyearspriortothestorybeingpublishedinPopularScience.DanielRigmaiden,servingtimeinprisonforfilingfraudulenttaxreturns,discoveredthattheFederalBureauofInvestigationhadfoundhimthroughoneoftheseinterceptortowers.Yet,thesewerenotcelltowersatall.Instead,RigmaidenuncoveredthatadevicecalledaStingRay,whichsentsignalsintoneighborhoodsinanattempttolocateaparticularmobiledevice,hadlocatedhim.3TheStingRayisacellsitesimulator,oranIMSIcatcher(IMSIstandsfor“internationalmobilesubscriberidentity,”auniqueidentificatorycodeforcellphones),thatsendsoutpingstoallphoneswithinthevicinityofthedevice.4Allphonesintheareapingback,asifthemobiledevicesweresendinginformationbacktotheircarrier’snearestcelltower(whichisusedtokeepaphoneinconstantcontactwiththecarrier’snetwork).Eventually,theStingRayidentifiesthephonethatisbeingsought,usuallyundertheoperationoflocallawenforcement.So,whilethecellsitesimulatorishuntingforaparticularphone(orsetofphones,asutilizedinthePresident’smotorcadeto“protecthimfromattacksandalerttheSecretServicetopeoplewhoshouldn’tbenearthePresident”5),onesideeffectisthatitgathersdatafromeveryphonewithinitsreach.Thesurveillancepracticesofthecell-sitesimulatorbringupmanyimportantaspectsaboutthewayssurveillanceisunderstoodandtheorized.First,thespatialmetaphorsforsurveillanceoftenobfuscatethedynamicarrangementsunderwhichsurveillanceispracticed.Thatis,termslikesurveillance(“towatchfromabove”),sousveillance(“towatchfrombelow”),orlateral/participatorysurveillance(“non-hierarchicalwatching”)allmissthewaysthatmanysurveillancepracticesoperate“fromthemiddle”orfromamulti-sitedposition.Interceptiontroublesthetraditionalspatialmetaphorsforsurveillance.Assuch,thematerialrealitiesofsurveillance-via-interceptionareoftenunknowntothosebeingwatched.Thisarticlethustracestherelationshipbetweenthesetwothings:thespatialarrangementsof“surveillancefromthemiddle”andthewaysthesearrangementsveilthematerialitiesofinterceptionandsurveillance.InterceptionandMediation

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Surveillancefromthemiddlecanbeunderstoodasmediationinitsmostbasicform.Thisgesturesbacktotheterm“medium”inthenineteenth-centurysenseoftheword:“Aninterveningsubstancethroughwhichaforceactsonobjectsatadistanceorthroughwhichimpressionsareconveyedtothesenses;anysubstanceconsideredwithregardtoitspropertiesasavehicleoflightorsound.”6Amedium’scommonassociationswithamessageorthecarryingofcontentwouldnotsurfaceuntilmuchlater,perhapsfindingitsresonanceasa“communicationmedium”againstthebackdropofelectricityinthe1880s.AsLisaGitelmanandTheresaM.Collinswrite,“Throughoutthenineteenthcenturyamediumwas“aninterveningagencyorsubstance”.So,forinstance,UnitedStatespatentsthatusedthepluralform,media,inthenineteenthcenturydosowithgreatestfrequencyinreferenceto“filteringmedia”,substanceswhichworktofiltersolutionsfrommoretolesscloudy.”7Here,surveillancefromthemiddleisquiteliterallyamediumasan“interveningagency”thatworkstofilter“frommoretolesscloudy.”Thismodeofsurveillanceworksparticularlywellwithcommunicationtechnologiesthatfunctionasynchronously.Aspeoplesendmessagesbackandforthtooneanother,thereisanecessarytime/spacelagthataffordsthepossibilityofinterception.Concernsaboutinterceptionechothroughoutthehistoryofcorrespondence.Forinstance,somecultureshaveresistedasynchronouswrittencommunicationsunderthebeliefthatoralmessagesdeliveredbyamessengerweremoredifficulttointerceptandthusmorereliable.8Inpart,thefearsofinterceptioninletterwritingwereaddressedbytheintroductionofwaxsealstoclosealetterandserveasamaterialsymbolofbothitsauthor(i.e.,royalsealswereuniquetoeachmonarch)andthefactthattheletterhadnotbeenopenedsincetheauthorhadsealeditshut.Shouldthewaxsealbebroken,therecipientwouldknowthatthemessageinsidewascompromised.9

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Figure1.AwaxsealfromtheInstitutoSuperiorTécnicoinLisbon,Portugal.©Domiriel,usedbypermissionunderCreativeCommonsAttributionNon-CommercialLicense.

Inourownmobilemediaculture,wehaveonceagaincometoprioritizeasynchronouscommunication.Since2009,datatransfer—throughmeanssuchasemail,texting,statusupdates,andphotosharing—hasoutpacedvoicecommunicationonmobiledevices.Thus,thetimelagandspatialtransferofthesemessagesareembeddedinoureverydaycommunicationpractices,whichaffordstheopportunityforinterceptionandsurveillancefromthemiddle.Here,itisworthnotingthatinterceptionofthiskindisuniquefromeavesdroppingorwiretapping.Whilethosedoconstituteasimilarformofinterception,practiceslikeeavesdroppingaresimultaneoustotheexchangeofinformationinsteadoffunctioningasamediumthatcollectsthemessagebeforethemessagecanbedelivered.Atfirstglance,thismaynotseemtobeasignificantdistinction,sincebothfunctioninsimilarwaysasmodesofsurveillancetypicallyhiddenfromthecommunicators.However,thespatialarrangementhasalargerimpactonthewaysthatsurveillancepractices—andresistancetothosepractices—areunderstood.Thissignificanceismostclearlyarticulatedbylinkingthespatialconfigurationofsurveillancefromthemiddlewithitsmateriality.

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MaterialInfrastructuresofSurveillancefromtheMiddleThematerialstructuresandinfrastructuresthataffordsurveillancefromthemiddleshapehowmessagesflowbetweenpeople.Theaffordancesandconstraintsofasynchronouschannelsofcommunicationcreatemodesofpracticethat,inpart,determinethesituationforhowthesemediaareproduced,distributed,consumed,andrespondedto.Assuch,surveillancefromthemiddlepracticesaremediathatrespondtothespecificitiesofthemediatheyinteractwith.Inotherwords,interception-as-surveillancemediates(asaninterveningagent)accordingtotheparticularitiesofthemediumitseekstointercept.Thismedium-specificmediationisthusacontinualnegotiationbetweenthestrategiesoftheonewhoissurveilling,whichmodesofinterceptionarepossibleforaspecificmedium,andthetacticsofthosesendingthemessagewhoattempttocircumventitsinterception.OneexampleIcameacrossrecentlyillustratesthisconstantnegotiationbetweentheseactorsinthismodelofsurveillance.DuringWorldWarI,WalterBoadwaywasacadetaviatorstationedinFranceandotherpartsofEurope.Hewrotelettersconstantlytohiswife,Betty,wholivedinPasadena,California.AsBettybeganreceivinghislettersshortlyafterhewasdeployed,therewerestrangeholesinthepaper.Sometimes,entireportionsofapageweremissingfromhisletters.Afterthishappenedseveraltimes,shewrotetohimtolethimknowthatwordsandparagraphsfromhisletterswerebeingremovedforsomereason.Militarycensorswerenotblackingoutthesepartsoftheletters.Instead,thecensorswereusingX-Actoknivestoliterallyremoveanywordorphrasethatwouldcompromiseclassifiedinformation(seeFigure2).

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Figure2.OneofWalterBoadway’sletterswrittenduringWWI,withawordremovedbyamilitarycensorbeforetheletterarrivedtohiswifeinPasadena,California.ThisletterisapartofthecorpusoflettersownedbytheCenterforAmericanWarLettersatChapmanUniversity.Image©2015JasonFarman,reproducedbypermissionoftheowner.

ForBoadway,whatconstitutedclassifiedinformationremainedmostlyunknown,sincethosedefinitionswereconstantlychanginginresponsetowartimecircumstances.Inhisearlyletterstohiswife,hehadnosensethatnamingthekindofplaneheflewwasexposinginformationthatwouldcompromisethemilitary’smissionifitwereintercepted.Atonepoint,hewasalsotoldthathecouldnotdatehisletters.Subsequently,insteadofwriting“November11,1917,”hesimplywrote“Sunday.”Otherwise,thedatewouldbecutoutentirelybythemilitarycensors.Ashewrotetheseearlyletters,heusedbothsidesofasheetofpaper.Afterthemilitarycensorscutouttheclassifiedinformation,non-classifiedpartsoftheletterswererenderedillegibleaswell(seeFigure3).Hence,thematerialconsequenceofwritingsomethingdeemedclassifiedwasthattheentireletterbecamemoreorlessillegibleduetotheremovalofpiecesofthepaper.

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Figure3.TwosidesofthesamecensoredsheetinoneofBoadway’sletterstohiswife.ThisletterisapartofthecorpusoflettersownedbytheCenterforAmericanWarLettersat

ChapmanUniversity.Imageusedbypermission.Asthesewords,sentences,orparagraphsarebroughtundererasurethroughtheremovalofthematerialpieceofpaper,wordsareremovedbutsystemsofsurveillancearerevealed.Here,muchinthewaythebrokenwaxsealonaletterrevealedthattheletterhadbeenread,thecensor’scuttingoftheletterrevealedthatinterceptionwashappening.Forsoldiers,inscribingwordsthatwereprohibitedresultedintheinabilitytocommunicate.Buttheremovalofthewordsinthiswayrevealedtheflowofcommunicationtothepeopleattemptingtocorrespondwitheachother:fromauthortocensortointendedrecipient.(Insomecases,theflowmightinsteadrunfromauthortocensortoenemyintelligence.)Insurveillancefromthemiddle,theactofinterceptionisoftenwhenthespatialdynamicsoftheseflowsofmediabecomerevealed.10IttookBoadwaysometimetochangehisrelationshiptothematerialityofhiscorrespondence.Initially,hesimplytriedtoadjustthecontentofthemessageswithoutregardforthefactthatremovalofawordononesideofthepaperwouldalsoremovepartofthemessagewrittenontheothersideofthepaper.Hesoonstartedwritingononlyonesideofeverysheetofpaper(which,asamaterialconsequence,costmoretoshipfromFranceto

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California).Asknowledgeofthespatialflowsofsurveillancefromthemiddleisrevealed,peopleengageintacticstoavoidinterception.Themilitarylearnedofwaysthatenemyintelligencewasinterceptingnewsofitsstrategiesandmovementsandthus,censoreditsownsoldiersaccordingly.WhenBoadwaylearnedofwaysthathisletterswerebeingcensored,herespondedbywritingononlyonesideofasheetofpaperandusingphrasesthatwouldavoidthemilitarycensors’notice.Hisresponsetocensorship(asonemodeandoutcomeofsurveillancefromthemiddle)wastotacticallyrespondtothesurveillancestrategiesofthosesurveillinghisletters.11TacticalResistanceandInfrastructuralLiteracyTheoristsofsurveillancehavearguedthatsurveillanceisproducedalongsidetheveryactofresistanceusedtosubvertorcircumventthissurveillance.AsAaronK.Martin,RosamundeE.vanBrakel,andDanielJ.Bernhardargue,“[R]esistanceisnotmerelyanepiphenomenonofsurveillance—itisabasicandnecessaryco-developmentofsurveillance,existinginmanyformsthatoftengounrecognized.”12Thus,insteadofcounter-tacticsemergingbasedonthemodesofsurveillanceencountered,itcanbearguedthatsurveillanceisaspatialdynamicproducedwithandthroughtheverynotionofresistance.13Whilesuchanargumentisindeedcompellingandpushessurveillancestudiesingenerativedirections,surveillancefromthemiddlerevealsamorecomplexflowofestablishingresistance.WhetheritbesomeonetryingtoavoidanIMSIcatcher,amonarchtryingtosecurealetterthroughawaxseal,orasoldiertryingtomakesurehisletterarrivesintacttoitsrecipient,tacticstoavoidsurveillancefromthemiddlewithinthesescenariosrequirethatthemiddlebeunveiled.Theyalsorequiretheinfrastructuralliteracytodecodetheflowsofasynchronouscommunicationandtheactsofinterception.LisaParksarguesthatwemustadvocateforinfrastructuralliteracyforustoengageinthepoliticsofhiddensystems.14Writingaboutinfrastructure’sinvisibility,shenotes:

Mostpeoplearesocialisedtoknowverylittleabouttheinfrastructuresthatsurroundthemineverydaylife,whetherelectricalsystems,sewerpipesorbroadcastnetworks.Notonlyarepeoplesocialisedtobeunawareofsuchsystems;infrastructuresareoftendesignedpurposefullytobeinvisibleortransparent,integratedwiththebuiltenvironment,whethersubmergedunderground,coveredbyceilingsandwalls,orcamouflagedas‘nature’.15

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Assurveillancefromthemiddlebecomesasubiquitousasparticipatorysurveillanceonsocialmedia,theresistancetosuchmodesofsurveillanceisoftenlimitedtothosewhomovebeyondacommon-senserelationshiptoit(arelationship,Iargue,thatveilsitselfbehindtheeveryday).16Oncethematerialrealitiesarerevealed,peoplecanfindtacticalmodesofconfrontingsurveillancefromthemiddle,or“creativemisuse”ofthesesurveillancescenariosasamodeofresistance.However,thisactofmovingthematerialrealitiesofsurveillancefromthemiddleoutoftherealmofcommonsenseandintoananalyticalrelationshipthatcritiquesandrespondstosuchsurveillanceisultimatelylimitedtothosewhohavethetools,access,andliteracytounderstandthismodeofsurveillance.Assuch,surveillancefromthemiddleappearstopredominantlybenefitthosewhoconducttheinterceptionasopposedtothosewhosemessagesarebeingintercepted.Yet,astheactofinterceptionrevealsthespatialandmaterialdynamicsofsurveillancefromthemiddle,thoselookingfortheseinterceptionscanbetterrespondintacticalways.Acknowledgments:Thisresearchwasfunded,inpart,byaResearchandScholarshipAwardfromtheGraduateSchoolattheUniversityofMaryland,CollegePark.IamalsoverygratefulfortheassistanceofthoseattheCenterforAmericanWarLettersatChapmanUniversity,especiallyRandBoydandMariaYanez. Notes 1 AndrewRosenblum,“MysteriousPhonyCellTowersCouldbeInterceptingYourCalls,”

PopularScience,Aug.27,2014,http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/mysterious-phony-cell-towers-could-be-intercepting-your-calls

2 BarryLevine,“Arethemysterious“interceptor”celltowersthehandiworkofforeignentities?”VentureBeat,Sept.18,2014,http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/18/are-the-mysterious-interceptor-cell-towers-the-handiwork-of-foreign-entities/.

3 Rigmaiden’sstorywasdetailedonNotetoSelf’sepisode,“WhenYourConspiracyTheoryisTrue,”June19,2015,http://www.wnyc.org/story/stingray-conspiracy-theory-daniel-rigmaiden-radiolab/.

4 FormoreinformationontheIMSIcatcher,seeLisaParks’article“RiseoftheIMSICatcher”inthisissue.

5 ChristopherSoghoian,PrincipalTechnologiesandSeniorPolicyAnalystattheAmericanCivilLibertiesUnion,quotedinNotetoSelf,“WhenYourConspiracyTheoryisTrue.”

6 “Medium,”OxfordEnglishDictionary(Oxford,UK:OxfordUniversityPress),

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http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/115772.7 LisaGitelmanandTheresaM.Collins,“MediumLight:RevisingEdisonianModernity,”

CriticalQuarterly51,no.2(2009):1-14,2.Emphasisinoriginal.8 RichardPankhurstgesturestothistensioninEthiopiaduringtheMiddleAgeswhen

writingwasnotthecommonformofcommunicationexceptinmessagesdeliveredtoverydistantplaces.SeeRichardPankhurst,“LetterWritingandtheUseofRoyalandImperialSealsinEthiopiaPriortotheTwentiethCentury,”TheJournalofEthiopianStudies11,no.1(1973):179-207.

9 Foradiscussionofearlysealsforcorrespondence,seeThomasA.Heslop,“EnglishSealsfromtheMidNinthCenturyto1100,”JournaloftheBritishArchaeologicalAssociation133,no.1(1980):1-16.

10 Forasimilaranalysisonthecensorshipofmaps,seeTrevorPaglen,BlankSpotsontheMap:TheDarkGeographyofthePentagon’sSecretWorld(NewYork:Penguin,2009).

11 Foranexcellentstudyonsuchtactics,seeRitaRaley,TacticalMedia(Minneapolis:UniversityofMinnesotaPress,2009).

12 AaronK.Martin,RosamundeE.vanBrakel,andDanielJ.Bernhard,“Understandingresistancetodigitalsurveillance:Towardsamulti-disciplinary,multi-actorframework,”Surveillance&Society6,no.3(2009):213-232,216.

13 Ihavebuiltonthisargumentinmyarticle,“CreativeMisuseAsResistance:Surveillance,MobileTechnologies,andLocativeGames,”Surveillance&Society12,no.3(2014):377-388.

14 LisaParks,“AroundtheAntennaTree:ThePoliticsofInfrastructuralVisibility,”Flow,Mar.2009,http://flowtv.org/?p=2507.

15 LisaParks,“TechnostrugglesandtheSatelliteDish:APopulistApproachtoInfrastructure,”inCulturalTechnologies:TheShapingofCultureinMediaandSociety,ed.GöranBolin(NewYorkandLondon:Routledge,2012),64-86,64.

16 Here,Ireference“commonsense”inthewaythatAntonioGramscihasusedtheword,toconnotetheembeddedprioritiesofthoseinpowerasamodeofexertingsuchpower.SeeSelectionsfromthePrisonNotebooksofAntonioGramsci,ed.andtrans.QuintinHoareandGeoffreyNowellSmith(London:Lawrence&Wishart,1971).

JasonFarmanisanAssociateProfessorintheDepartmentofAmericanStudiesattheUniversityofMaryland,CollegePark.HeisalsotheDirectoroftheDesignCultures&CreativityProgramandafacultymemberwiththeHuman-ComputerInteractionLab.HeisauthorofthebookMobileInterfaceTheory:EmbodiedSpaceandLocativeMedia(Routledge,2012—winnerofthe2012BookoftheYearAwardfromtheAssociationofInternetResearchers).HeistheeditorofthebooksTheMobileStory:NarrativePracticeswithLocativeTechnologies(Routledge,2014)andFoundationsofMobileMediaStudies:EssentialTextsontheFormationofaField(Routledge,2016).Hehaspublishedscholarlyarticlesonsuchtopicsasmobiletechnologies,thehistoryoftechnology,digitalmapsandculturalgeography,locativeandsite-specificart,videogames,digitalstorytelling,performanceart,socialmedia,andsurveillance.HereceivedhisPh.D.fromUCLA’sSchoolofTheater,Film,andTelevision.