LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Police Department will soon have access to a controversial phone unlocking device, giving officers the ability to hack into both iPhone and Android devices.
During a Kaua‘i County Council meeting on Dec. 20, council members unanimously approved the acceptance of an $11,743.60 donation from Operation Underground Railroad, for a GrayKey, a phone unlocking box made by technology forensics company Grayshift.
The device was first reported by Forbes in March 2018, and according to a March 2022 news release from Grayshift, it’s used by thousands of law agencies in at least 30 countries around the world.
GrayKey devices are intended to be used by law enforcement or government agencies during investigations, allowing them to extract huge amounts of data from iOS and Android devices, including photos, messages, web searches and location data.
Operation Underground Railroad, a nonprofit that focuses on assisting law enforcement with combating child trafficking and sexual exploitation, has agreed to provide the GrayKey to the Kaua‘i Police Department (KPD) for a one-year trial period, according to Paul Applegate, the KPD’s acting assistant chief.
At the meeting, Applegate called the donation for the phone hacking software “a really good opportunity” for the department.
The KPD’s request for county approval of the device focused on the donation coming from an anti-sex trafficking organization. Still, Applegate said it would be used for a range of investigations.
“We’re free to use it to help in other investigations that might help bring a speedy conclusion,” he said.
“And we’re under no obligation at the end (of trial) to continue to use this if we feel that it doesn’t help us in any way.”
According to Applegate, the department reached out to Grayshift during a search for a tool that would allow them to extract phone data during investigations. The company then referred the department to Operation Underground Railroad.
“(Grayshift) said we have a program through the Underground Railroad, where they would give us this as a donation. So, that’s how we got this,” he said.
Potential privacy violations have been a major concern for Grayshift, a complaint voiced by Kaua‘i resident Bruce Hart during testimony against county approval of the device at the meeting.
“The potential for abuse is huge,” he said, adding misuse of the device would violate people’s Fourth Amendment rights to privacy of personal property.
Council member Felicia Cowden later asked Applegate about what kind of protections would in place to protect Fourth Amendment rights and prevent officers from misusing GrayKey.
“It does matter to me, that it isn’t that anytime that somebody is pulled over or arrested, that their phone basically gets read,” she said.
Applegate replied that all search and seizure laws would be followed under their standard procedure for the device.
“As we do anything else, we follow laws and get a proper search warrant before extracting any information,” he said.
Applegate later explained the process for taking a person’s phone for data extraction, saying officers would work to gain access to the phone upon a warrant being issued.
“If we were to get a warrant for someone’s phone, they would have it on them at the time when we execute the warrant or it will (already) be in our possession in arrest if we had probable cause at the time,” he said.
“So we do our due diligence to try not to inconvenience anybody as much as possible to have access to their phone.”
Cowden later asked if the department would be able to disclose how many times the product was used, and in what cases, after six months of the trial period.
“We will be able to provide information, whatever we could, and not jeopardize any investigation,” Applegate said.
In closing comments, council members, including Ross Kagawa, provided statements in support of the device.
“I trust in our officers to not jeopardize any investigations and do things through the proper channels,” Kagawa said, adding that the technology has to be used to protect minors.
Council member Bill DeCosta advised people of a “simple rule” in his family just before voting in support of the device.
“If you do nothing wrong, you got nothing to worry about,” DeCosta said. “You do something wrong, you better cover all your tracks. Now, your tracks can be revealed.”
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Emma Grunwald, reporter, can be reached 808-652-0638 or egrunwald@thegardenisland.com.
