New Digital Surveillance Tools Threaten Gun Owner Privacy

Leonardo, a company that holds multiple surveillance-related defense and government contracts, recently introduced ELSAG SignalTrace, and its hardware is being offered as a bolt-on supplement to the more than 110,000 Flock cameras taking and storing photos of vehicles on public roadways nationwide. The technology contained within that hardware could conceivably track who has recently purchased a firearm and where they're taking it.

The SignalTrace webpage explains the system can detect cellphone manufacturer and make, audio system in the vehicle, smartwatches, wireless ear buds and more. Tire pressure monitors, laptops and iPads are also included as part of the “electronic fingerprint.” According to analysis by TechRepublic, this even includes those popular microchips used to reunite lost pets with their owner, along with RFID signals from tags used by many retailers for inventory convenience.

Enough FFLs use such RFID technology that the National Shooting Sports Foundation published a “Best Practices” bulletin five years before Leonardo’s introduction. The trade organization’s advice is straightforward.

“Our position can be summarized simply as ‘Turn It Off, Take It Off at the Checkout Counter.’” Failure to do so today could mean that, at the very least, that gun you’re taking home from the store could be identified and included in your “digital fingerprint.” Consider inspecting the firearm and all packaging after making a purchase and before ever leaving the store to be sure you've removed all possible identifying information.

Information collected by SignalTrace is transmitted into the cloud. There it undergoes AI analysis, and a digital fingerprint is assigned to that vehicle for law-enforcement use. If a license plate or other identifying features are captured by Flock—including bumper and window stickers, according to Deflock.org—they are noted.

Law enforcement agencies nationwide claim the vehicle data collected by Flock cameras is deleted after a certain period—usually 30 days. The SignalTrace datasheet, on the other hand, plainly states, “All data collected may be uploaded to the EOC server and archived for future queries and analysis.”

Everyone wants law enforcement to catch criminals fast and, just as importantly, the justice system to issue appropriate sentences. The new technology, however, raises all new privacy concerns for gun owners.

There’s no doubt familiar brands in the gun industry are already eyeing this development and weighing the wisdom of offering products to address growing privacy concerns. The uproar online certainly indicates they’re going to be in demand—by those of us who exercise our Second Amendment rights, and anyone else concerned about Big Brother’s surveillance. 

Certain products that can guard against privacy intrusion have been made available before, typically called "Faraday cages" or bags. In 2013, Blackhawk introduced its Under the Radar pouches and bag with Zero Trace signal-blocking technology. The company was ahead of their time, but despite the bag's ability to thwart phone and computer surveillance, it was discontinued just a few years later.

New surveillance technology being marketed to law-enforcement agencies is now fueling a resurgence in interest in similar designs, and every gun owner needs to pay attention.