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Canadian Aviator Magazine reports that Canadian military search and rescue aircraft are now equipped with devices capable of tracking cellphones carried by pilots and passengers. The equipment, part of the Canadian Airborne Sensor for Search and Rescue (CASSAR) system, detects cell tower interrogation signals emitted by cellphones. This technology has been installed in CC-130H aircraft dedicated to search and rescue missions.
According to a summary released by Canada's Department of National Defence, the system "essentially mimics a cellphone tower to capture location and other information from an operating cellphone." It does not monitor conversations. For the system to work, phones must be on, with a live battery and not set to airplane mode. Once detected, locating the phone becomes straightforward.
Although this technology has been available for several years, the department conducted an exhaustive analysis of privacy concerns related to its surveillance capabilities. The ability to track any operating cellphone from the air prompted a Privacy Impact Assessment under Canada’s Privacy Act. "Based on the results of the PIA, privacy risks arising from the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of personal information using the CASSAR system are expected to be low," stated the report.
