Where is Electronically Stored Information? It’s Everywhere! - Electronically Stored Information - page 131

sobering.in.his.regard. * .The.article.talks.about.how.long.the.
different. telecoms. actually. do. store. information. and. what.
information.they.keep.
For.instance,.only.Verizon.is.said.to.actually.store.the.con-
tents.of.text.messages,.and.then.only.for.5.days..However,.all.
of.the.providers.store.information.about.everyone.you.texted..
At.the.time.of.this.report.that.was.dated.August.2010.(and.
these.policies.and.procedures.deinitely.change.for.better.or.
worse.over.time),.T-Mobile.was.reported.to.keep.that.infor-
mation.as.long.as.5.years!.Verizon.was.the.best.of.the.major.
providers.and.only.stored.data.about.the.parties.engaged.in.
texts.for.1.year.
Perhaps.the.most.sobering.and.potentially.important.to.
all. of. us. when. thinking. about. our. privacy. or. what. might.
come.up.in.a.court.case.is.the.practice.of.storing.“cell-site”.
data.. This. basically. keeps. track. of. where. your. phone. was.
located..Remember.we.discussed.this.earlier.when.I.pointed.
out.that.your.phone.is.always.keeping.track.of.the.nearest.
cell. towers. so. it. can. eficiently. make. a. call. or. connection.
when.required.
As.usual,.that.feature.has.a.possibly.more.sinister.use..It.
can.be.(and.has.been).used.to.track.a.person's.location.and.
establish.if.that.person.was.where.he.or.she.said.he.or.she.
was,.or.possibly.at.or.near.the.scene.of.a.crime..The.article.
mentioned. above. states. that. “Verizon. keeps. that. data. on. a.
one-year.rolling.basis;.T-Mobile.for.'a.year.or.more';.Sprint.up.
to.two.years;.and.AT&T.indeinitely,.from.July.2008.”.Here.
again. we. note. a. large. repository. of. speciic. and. important.
information.that.you.may.have.a.need.to.access.
But.unlike.voice.data.from.a.cell.phone.call.that.is.never.
recorded.and.stored.(outside.of.the.needs.of.law.enforcement.
and. only. then. with. the. proper. wiretapping. protocols),. text.
messaging.is.stored.for.at.least.some.period.of.time.on.your.
*. Wired ,. David. Kravets,. Which. Telecoms. Store. Your. Data. the. Longest?.
Secret. Memo. Tells. All,. September. 28,. 2011:. http://www.wired.com/threat-
level/2011/09/cellular-customer-data/..Retrieved.2011-10-12.