Palm Beach County POCSAG Ending...

[AK4FD]

Well, this is a sad day in PBC history. For those that don’t know, PBCFR’s old “Command 1” frequency (453.150 MHz) was converted many years ago to their alpha-numeric paging channel to send calls out to crews POCSAG pagers after they switched over to their old Analog Trunking system. It was great to decode for those that couldn’t hear proper address pronunciations and such, especially when the new locution system was installed on Tac 6A some words the computer lady couldn’t announce very well. But, as with all things that humans like to get their hands on, some people decided to decode the PBC pages not for their own purposes, but to profit off of it and sell subscriptions for, because you can use PDW to decode the pages and ingest them onto a web page to make sort-of an impromptu CAD screen if you’re a programmer and web designer.

A couple months ago I started noticing issues with decoding POCSAG pages. Most, if not all, County units pages were horribly scrambled but PDW was not showing any errors associated with it, and the municipalities like Delray, West Palm, those pages still decoded fine. I decided recently to contact some people I know in the PBCFR upper echelon of management and today I got confirmation of what I’ve suspected for the past few weeks... PBC has switched to encrypted POCSAG paging, which explains why County units were scrambled.

Upon speaking with an unnamed PBCFR employee, one of the biggest reasons they switched was because of some organization named “eFirstAlerts” that charges people a subscription fee to receive eMails and texts of PBCFR decoded pages, unfiltered for a fee. Just a few of their concerns with this were: A) people making a profit off of PBCFR government intellectual information, and B) private health info, gate codes, house key locations, etc falling into the wrong hands. There were more but for sake of length I’ll spare you all the rest. As usual, we are our own worst enemy. It was one thing to decode pages for YOUR OWN hobbyist usage and info; but the second you cross that line and begin making money off of government intellectual property/info that wasn’t yours, ESPECIALLY a government, and publicly displaying it for a fee, was a BAD idea and has ruined it for the rest of us... And for those that can still decode West Palm, Delray, etc municipalities, it won’t be for long as those cities will be switched to encrypted paging within the next couple months, in-fact Greenacres made the encrypted changeover today! So to whomever runs eFirstAlerts and began charging people money for private government paging that wasn’t yours to make money off of, thank you; now you’ve ruined it for the rest of us that just wanted to scan for ourselves! And don’t think radio encryption isn’t being tossed around right now as well. It’s a new trend across the USA to encrypt FD radios now, and this stunt on making money off PBC pages definitely helped them to go ahead with encrypting their paging surely doesn’t help our cause to keep scanning clear and legal...

 

[APX8000]

First, the fact that PBC was putting gate codes and key locations out over unencrypted POCSAG is pure dumbness. Thats what cell phones, CAD messages or an encrypted tac is for. So the fact that someone capitalizes off readily available information using free software is just genius in my opinion. Now, I personally would have filtered certain sensitive things, but that requires a human to review, labor costs, etc. So again, if they send it over the air then its on them.

And the County dispatches the incident location right over 6A...its not too hard to figure out those hard "proper address pronunciations" based upon the unit(s) being assigned. So its not like they completely cut it off.

Regardless, agencies don't need excuses to encrypt. They can simply use the blanket "officer safety" and it will get done. Maybe someone will push back but inevitably, if they want it, the County Commissioners will simply say OK. If you think anyone like "your elected officials that represent YOU" cares that Joe Blow can't listen for transparency, or to know what's going on is his backyard, you are sadly mistaken. I deal with Agencies that won't share their encryption keys with NEIGHBORING agencies, both law enforcement, or even Agencies with overlapping jurisdiction (County Sheriff/State Police/Feds). It is what it is.

 

[AK4FD]

Free software or not, the point is that someone felt it was a good idea to make money off of information that wasn’t theirs. Technically it wasn‘t over the “free air”. It wasn’t readily-available voice on a frequency. It required hooking a computer to a scanner then using software to decode the 0’s and 1’s back to readable text; but I digress...

My point was I liked to see that info for hobby purposes and the fact that PBC even felt the need to mention eFirstAlerts by name tells me it was really on their minds. The fact that anyone could subscribe to their services and receive private health or personal info. It’s one thing to send an address (which by the way some addresses are protected under Sunshine Law, i.e. Suicides) that still were broadcasted over pagers, but to not responsibly filter that info to weed out codes and medical info and such. just not smart. Not to mention again, making money off of it when it wasn’t anyone’s info to make money off of.

And as you pointed out that the pagers were unencrypted and legal, what you didn’t mention is while it’s legal to receive these transmissions, it’s illegal to share or act on them such as what was done here. The second that you cross that line and share the info you decode publicly AND make money from it was wrong... Tell me I’m not correct...

 

[footage]

Per the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, receiving pager communications is illegal.

 

[AK4FD]

The pages were unencrypted and legal to receive, however it’s illegal to share or act on them such as what was done here. The second that you cross that line and share the info you decode publicly AND make money from it was wrong... Who knows how many robberies occurred from the wrong gate codes or key locations into the wrong hands, or what stalkers may subscribe to services to get details on a certain address, or Sunshine Law violations that locations send out publicly for suicides and stuff that weren’t given out on the radio. If you don’t see the careless greedy circumstance that occurred here then you’re not a responsible scanner hobbyist...

 

[footage]

Rightly or wrongly, ECPA rendered it illegal to intercept any communications that are not "readily accessible to the general public." Here's a working definition from the Act: Definition: readily accessible to the general public from 18 USC § 2510(16) | LII / Legal Information Institute.

"D" rules out digital paging.

 

[APX8000]

First of all, not only am I a responsible hobbyist, I'm also a responsible user, having subscribers on multiple systems and use ENC where appropriate to protect certain information whether it be tactics or suspect/victim information.

Second, I'd argue and say that if someone is decoding information over the air and then posting it for personal gain, I may have to arrest @blantonl for maintaining a database of it or hosting forums. The ECPA does not apply here as Title I applies to "wiretaps", Title II applies to the SCA for service providers and Title III applies to "pen registers/trap and trace" devices. All of these are intended to protect citizens from the GOV illegally obtaining information without a subpoena, court order or warrant. Generally speaking, the ECPA applies to email, telephone conversations and data stored electronically. Someone using PDW is the same as someone using Unitrunker to decode information sent over the air such as talkgroups, UIDs, etc.

Lastly, lets look at a specific example like me using Unitrunker in conjunction with a scanner. When a fire apparatus keys up and says "Dispatch, Engine-52 arriving" I can see the UID associated with that transmission. Lets say its 7125169, I can then tag it as PBCFR ENGINE-52. Now, everytime that unit keys up, it will display it on Unitrunker. Better yet, I can upload a whole file of those on my shiny Uniden scanner. Well, if I decide to sell that list for personal gain because others want that cool alpha-tagging capability, am I in violation of Sunshine Laws? That information (UID) is not "readily accessible" and gained from using software.

Your quoting provisions that are non-applicable here.

 

[AK4FD]

Well, I too am a responsible subscriber/user on a County system, and like you I also am a very advanced Unitrunker user of many years now. However I think that decoding TG and UID info on Unitrunker is slightly different than decoding PHI/HIPAA things and sending them to make a profit off anyone that subscribes. Even @blantonl has his limits as to what he puts out to the public to see. Dispatch-only channels as opposed to Tactical channels. Besides that, decoding Trunking Control Channel info just gives you System Details like TG and UID and Site info; it doesn’t show you CAD messages meant for units and private POCSAG pager text...

My whole point to starting this thread was to say if this person had just stuck to decoding PDW pages for himself and not decided to turn it into a multi-faceted business venture involving multiple counties paging Comms then maybe, just maybe, we could still be getting PBCFR POCSAG pages unencrypted.

Also something to note, eFirstAlerts officially dissolved as a company back in 2019, however in 2020 the owner went on a podcast touting his website and in-fact saying he was working on more updates to it for subscribers. To this day his website is running and offers subscription services. So besides making money off PDW pages, he’s doing it using a business that dissolved 3 years ago, according to PBC tax records...

 

[AK4FD]

I’m honestly beating my head in as to why you guys don’t think that this was a bad idea to begin with... Especially those that love the encryption... How do you not see that what occurred here has played an integral part in why they went to encrypted paging... Think about felons subscribing to this service, targeting areas, getting those pages of key locations or alarm codes, what-not, then waiting for the FD to leave so they can go rob the place... That kind of info should NEVER have been spread to the public. the layperson has no idea how PDW works, what PDW or POCSAG is for that matter, or how to set to to receive it. It’s one thing for a tech geeks like us to do it, but now because of this service any Tom, Dick, Harry, or Felon can get this info... How does this not make you upset??

 

[APX8000]

Your argument that the criminal can subscribe to his service and obtain information to use for nefarious reasons is contradicting to me. Its the same as someone subscribing to broadcastify or any other scanner app. They can use the information sent over the air to know where a unit is currently at to plan a drive by shooting. Or listen to units tied up on a call on one side of town to conduct a burglary on the other side of town knowing they have time. I could go on and on. The point is you seem to have no problem with regular dispatch comms in the clear but the paging info being encrypted rubs you wrong. Thats what I don't understand. Streaming dispatch channels it the number 1 reason agencies encrypt. The arguments to encrypt are the same for both...the information obtained from both can be used to aid in the commission of crimes. So, why is one ok and not the other ?

 

[AK4FD]

Oh trust me, I have a HUGE problem with broadcasting scanner/radio channels/TG over the internet, but I know how RR and Broadcastify feels about conversation involving radio ENC so that’s why I chose not to bring it up, but believe me I’m against it. It’s mostly the reason why agencies are going to ENC these days... When radio systems and LEA’s began encrypting around my area I’m currently in I ended up taking down the stream I used to provide because I didn’t want MY County going ENC over it. Thankfully the System Admin for my County is a good friend and a co-worker on my Dept, so i am entrusted with my dept radios and pager inventory and updating, so I didn’t wanna compromise that.

As far as info sent over the air, that wasn‘t the purpose for this thread, but also they don’t give out gate codes or key locations over the air so it would be hard for a criminal to pick a good location; but a text page of that same info would allow that criminal to pinpoint where to go next. That was my argument for that, but only a small part of my argument.

Law Enforcement in PBC is already fully-ENC so it’s not a big jump to say Fire-Rescue is next. That’s what I’m trying to prevent happening. This situation certainly doesn’t help matters...

 

[ccfd7031]

How do you not see that what occurred here has played an integral part in why they went to encrypted paging...

Oh the irony!..What are your thoughts on streaming voice over the internet to the public free or fee based. I wonder if that has caused any agencies to encrypt voice. Hmm..

Oh trust me, I have a HUGE problem with broadcasting scanner/radio channels/TG over the internet, but I know how RR and Broadcastify feels about conversation involving radio ENC so that’s why I chose not to bring it up, but believe me I’m against it. It’s mostly the reason why agencies are going to ENC these days... When radio systems and LEA’s began encrypting around my area I’m currently in I ended up taking down the stream I used to provide because I didn’t want MY County going ENC over it.

But you did bring it up. Luckily you were able to remove your stream before YOUR county encrpyted though. Do you see the similarities at all? Voice vs Text it might as well be the same thing in this instance.

 

[AK4FD]

Oh the irony!..What are your thoughts on streaming voice over the internet to the public free or fee based. I wonder if that has caused any agencies to encrypt voice. Hmm..

I already stated my belief on that, or were you not reading the post entirely...

But you did bring it up. Luckily you were able to remove your stream before YOUR county encrpyted though. Do you see the similarities at all? Voice vs Text it might as well be the same thing in this instance.

I brought it up because I was asked about it... Voice and pager transmissions are 2 completely DIFFERENT animals... Voice you can buy a scanner anywhere which is readily available to the public, or, as you said, find a stream online. But for pager info you’d have to purchase an alpha pager, program it, add the capcodes you’d want to receive; OR, program the pager freq into a scanner, download PDW and hook an audio cable to the scanner from computer, THEN screw with PDW settings intricately until you get that perfect 100% decode, which trust me takes hours to do sometimes, then write webpage code to automate putting the text on an impromptu CAD and then sending the data to people. Definitely NOT readily available to the public. 1 requires no knowledge and 1 requires extensive coding knowledge and patience. So, no, they’re totally NOT the same thing! But I digress... Anything else?

 

[footage]

@APX8000 Not trying to start an argument here, but ECPA isn't just about wiretaps and pen registers. It actually does prohibit the interception of alphanumeric messages. Its passing in 1986 (after Congress was heavily lobbied by the cellular industry which at that time offered no solution to protect analog cellphone calls from public reception) gave rise to great anxiety in the scanner community.

An early and well-publicized prosecution was in 1997, when various individuals involved with Breaking News Network and an NYPD officer were found guilty of intercepting NYPD pager messages as well as using Message Tracker software to read them. Please see here for further information: U.S. v. Sills, 99 Cr. 1133 (SWK) | Casetext Search + Citator.

I don't know of any recent similar prosecutions, but people should be aware of the law if they are playing in this space.

 

[batdude]

this is the best statement in the entire thread:

As usual, we are our own worst enemy.

I will offer to you that my very limited engagement with my local LE agency (mainly just informal BS'ing with the Sheriff) --- he absolutely hates the fact that his radio transmissions are re-broadcast over the internet - he DOES consider this an officer safety issue - and he REALLY doesn't like a couple of facebook groups that (sometimes) do blow by blow posts on significant events as they unfold.

I suspect this will lead to 100% ENC (like a lot of other Florida counties) when our local system is upgraded in the next 2-3 years.

I am very surprised that action was not taken against this company for what they are/were doing. Seems cut and dried to me.

it would seem to me that there needs to be a balance somewhere, but I don't think that will ever be achieved. Any state law could be easily circumvented by the feed being "hosted" by someone out of state..... and I don't see a federal law being passed either. Ho hum.

Reminder - stay on target and within the bounds of the RR Forums rules regarding ENC, etc.

 

[PDXh0b0]

Which of you is eJim ? 😆

 

[APX8000]

@footage no arguments, just friendly discussions....I am familiar with the Sills case, it was actually discussed in one of my classes for a certain technical certification I possess. But again, I still don't believe it applies here. In Sills, the pager was actually being "cloned" (still remember all those "cloned" cell phones back in the day). Each alphanumeric pager back then contained an electronic address, which is compromised of two parts....the pager's particular radio frequency from which the pager receives messages and a "CAPCODE," which is, in effect, an assigned serial number. The CAPCODE distinguishes one pager from others operating on the same radio frequency. With PDW, you are simply "filtering" the POCSAG riccode ("ADDRESS") not actually cloning it, therefore it is exempted under 18 USC 2511(g)(ii)(II).

Your serve....

 

[APX8000]

CONTINUED...So, Unitrunker does the same as PDW....simple filtering of readily accessible information being sent over the air. Can you argue how PDW is "different" which violates the statute but Unitrunker does not ?

 

[18bravo]

Sitting back with popcorn 🍿

 

[18bravo]

My county only encrypts sensitive notification pages such as swat call outs, child injuries and things of that nature. All other pages are in the clear.