meshDETECT® is pleased to announce that it has been granted a seventh wireless blockchain patent for managing inmate financial transactions in prison using blockchain technology.

Our thirteenth patent granted, U.S. Patent 12,212,710 is entitled “Systems and Methods For Blockchain Wireless Services In a Controlled Environment.”

The claims in our latest blockchain patent are directed toward a system for regulating transactions in a controlled environment, a method for controlling inmate blockchain transactions comprised of rules enforced by network nodes/validator software, and a system for overseeing transactions between wallet accounts on a blockchain-protected network in a controlled environment.

This invention aims to provide a secure and regulated system for managing inmate financial transactions in prison using blockchain technology, enforcing compliance rules and obligations via smart contracts while allowing for administrative oversight and control within correctional facilities.

This patent describes a systems for regulating blockchain transactions in a controlled environment, such as a correctional facility.

The key components of the invention include:

1. A blockchain-protected network with an administrative node.
2. Electronic wallets associated with parties inside and outside the controlled environment.
3. Smart contracts that enforce rules for transactions.
4. A validator application that executes on the administrative node.

Key features of the invention include:

1. Ability to handle transactions for detainees in controlled environments.
2. Rules for modifying wallet balances and states.
3. Metadata addition to transactions for tracking and reporting.
4. Administrative override capabilities.
5. Automatic direction of funds for various obligations (e.g., fees due, restitution, debt payment, spousal support, savings accounts, and child support).

The system also includes a method for controlling inmate blockchain transactions:

1. Receiving and inserting smart contracts into the network.
2. Executing rules associated with each smart contract.
3. Validating compliant transactions and rejecting non-compliant ones

Our six previous blockchain patents can be found at US10,694,032, US10,855,838, US11,140,263, US11,425,244, US11,689,658, US12,212,710 and US11,956,383.

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meshDETECT® is pleased to announce that it has been granted a sixth wireless blockchain patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for U.S. Patent 11,956,383 entitled “Systems and Methods For Blockchain Wireless Services In a Controlled Environment.” This is our twelfth patent granted overall.

The claims in our latest blockchain patent are directed toward a multi-blockchain system to secure, manage, and validate forensic data in controlled environments such as prisons and jails

Digital Forensics

Digital forensics deals with legal evidence left in computers, devices, and digital recording media. This is a procedure and method for legally identifying and demonstrating the facts of a specific activity that occurred using a digital device.

Effective and reliable digital-evidence management systems require non-repudiation, i.e. cryptographic proof that an action regarding forensic data either occurred or did not occur. For instance who accessed information, when, was data altered and if so, how.

Inmate Digital Data Grows

With the wide spread adoption of digital devices such as tablets for use by inmates, the risk of misuse, financial fraud, external party harassment, etc. has grown exponentially.

The evidence of these incidents is essential to prison and police investigations because it illustrates the facts of the cyber-crime and connects inmates to their criminal activities. Therefore, it is crucial to handle the gathered evidence carefully to ensure that it is admissible to police investigations and court trials as well as to prevent tampering or misconduct.

Leveraging the blockchain in a corrections environment provides the inherent capability for insuring the transparency, immutability, and auditability of forensic evidence. However, there are security and privacy risks in using the same blockchain for inmate transactions as for forensic evidence storage, management, and use.

Inmate Data Forensics

Our patent claims a system with at multiple blockchains in a controlled environment. The blockchains are interconnected and networked but segregated.

There are a number of user nodes, each node with selected permission levels to submit and retrieve forensic data and at least one administrative blockchain node that communicates and coordinates the formatting of data, the submission of data, and the retrieval of data from the blockchains.

There is the ability to create and manage smart contracts that regulate creation, access, and modification of data; as well as the rules, settings, and permissions relating to blockchain data, interaction, security, and access.

Through this multi-blockchain system approach, independent but interconnected blockchains can have different security, privacy and access models to handle the forensic data associated with criminal evidence, as well as inmate medical records, financial records, complaints, legal case data, blockchain wallet use, and keys.

Our five previous blockchain patents can be found at US10,694,032, US10,855,838, US11,140,263, US11,425,244 and US11,689,658.

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meshDETECT® is pleased to announce that it has been granted a fifth wireless blockchain patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for U.S. Patent 11,689,658 entitled “Systems and Methods For Blockchain Wireless Services In a Controlled Environment.” This is our eleventh patent granted overall.

The claims in our latest blockchain patent are directed toward:

Leveraging the blockchain to ensure and prove that a privileged voice or video call from an inmate in a prison is not recorded.

Inmate calls are typically recorded and filed into archives that law enforcement agencies and prison officials can later access in the event a person is believed to be engaged in witness tampering or other forms of harassment.

However, calls from detainees in jail to their lawyers are not supposed to be recorded and are confidential under attorney-client privilege.

An Widespread Problem

There a have been multiple instances in jails and prisons across the country where this privilege has not been honored. In fact, the state of Maine has recently enacted a law protecting attorney-client privilege in jail calls.

Listening to the recordings of these call was widespread practice in Maine. Nearly 1,000 of supposedly confidential phone calls between defendants and their lawyers were eavesdropped on in a one-year period between June 2019 and May 2020, in at least four county jails.

In some cases, intercepted calls were turned over to prosecutors, which defense lawyers said gave the prosecutors improper insight into the defendants’ legal strategies during the pretrial phases of their cases, when plea bargaining most often takes place.

“The act of recording inhibits people from having a free exchange of information, but then turning that over to the people that are engaging in the prosecution really destroys the ability to have a meaningful assistance of counsel”

Other Claims in the Patent

Another set of claims in the patent enable streaming payments during a voice, video or usage session by an inmate device, continuously creating and broadcasting transactions via the blockchain at predetermined intervals.

A third set claims a method of proving ownership of and granting access to inmate devices, such as media tablets.

Our previous four blockchain patents can be found at US10,694,032, US10,855,838, US11,140,263 and US11,425,244.

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China’s eastern Jiangsu province has applied blockchain technology in prison management for parole, commutation and prisoner assessments, a local newspaper reported.

The official Xinhua Daily in Jiangsu reported last week that the blockchain-supported smart prison system used in 21 prisons in the province has been endorsed by the Ministry of Justice, which recommended promoting the idea to the more than 600 prisons nationwide.

According to the report, the platform adopted by the provincial prison authority has more than 800 functions and nearly 1,200 procedures to provide a one-stop solution for the inmate assessment, punishment and rewards system. “The whole process of law enforcement by police will leave online records and 100 per cent of the cases can be traceable [to every step],” it said.

The system managing commutation and parole, for instance, is connected with the courts and procuratorate so that the whole procedure can be handled online, the report added. Commutation and parole approvals will be open to the public on the official website of the Jiangsu prison management authority, as well as the province’s public administration information website.

Corruption and abuse cases in Chinese prisons, which hold about 1.8 million inmates and employ 300,000 guards according to the latest available data from 2012, often stir public anger, and Beijing has been working to root out unjustified commutations and paroles.

Blockchain is a distributed database where information is synchronized and shared by all participants. The data is not owned by any single authority, so the decentralized design enables it to be transparent and tamper-resistant, which could effectively reduce corruption or abuse in the prison environment.

We believe there are important use cases for blockchain in prison, such as inmate management including certification and electronic verification of forms, records, and data requiring action by an inmate; the creation of an inmate-specific contract in a blockchain network to monitor, manage and reward the behavior of an inmate; and reducing the costs of the traditional prison banking system, among many others.

Blockchain ties together the previously discreet domains of prison commissary providers, correctional banking systems, jail management systems (JMS) and the inmate communications services (ICS) providers.

Source

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meshDETECT® is pleased to announce that it has recently received a notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for U.S. Patent Application Number US16/386,248 entitled “System and method for controlling, monitoring and recording of wireless telecommunications services in penal institutions.” This is our sixth patent overall and the fifth in this family of patents.

A notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office is a written notification that a patent application has cleared internal review and is pending issuance.

This sixth patent, combined with our recently allowed blockchain patent, further expands our Secure Prison Cell Phone Solutions™ intellectual property portfolio and further solidifies our position as the prime innovator in the prison mobile device space. The claims in this latest patent are directed toward expanding the use and functionality of an inmate mobile communications device as well as the network systems that support its deployment and functionality.

The control systems of mobile devices used in correctional facilities are currently focused on the monitoring and recording of inmate usage and application access. However, these devices can be used to monitor more than just the individual activity and communication of the inmate in possession of the device. The devices themselves can be used to monitor the broader correctional facility environment and its detainees. This new functionality provides unique security, safety and investigative capabilities to the administrative personnel of prisons and jails.

Brian Byrne, Managing Partner of meshIP, LLC commented, “With this sixth patent, we now have intellectual property which covers six key aspects of secure wireless inmate communication systems – system, application, device management, device security, blockchain enabled wireless service and now investigative environmental monitoring. We are the only inmate communications services company with the intellectual property portfolio protecting these six core elements of the now mainstream inmate mobile device market.”

Update: The patent (US10,764,757) was issued on September 1, 2020 by the United States Patent Office. You can view the patent here: Sixth meshDETECT patent.

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meshDETECT® is pleased to announce that it has recently received a notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for U.S. Patent Application Number 16/517620 entitled “Systems and Methods For Blockchain Wireless Services In a Controlled Environment.”

A notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office is a written notification that a patent application has cleared internal review and is pending issuance.

This fifth patent expands our Secure Prison Cell Phone Solutions™ intellectual property portfolio and further solidifies our position as the prime innovator in the prison mobile device space by leveraging the security, efficiency and decentralization offered by blockchain technology. The claims in this latest patent are directed toward voice and video call validation, decentralized voice and video call recording, and smart contract enabled inmate financial transactions. This patent is the intellectual property foundation of Aisto®, our new blockchain powered inmate mobile device solution.

In the traditional telecommunications systems of correctional facilities, the administrative costs involved in call and video recording as well as associated metadata are limited by the number of communication kiosks in the prison. This number is typically small and therefore makes it reasonable to maintain such administration via a single conventional, centralized computing center, whether located on-site in the correctional facility or in a remote site. However, as the number of these telecommunication devices and the complexity of the system increases with the introduction of mobile devices, such as tablets, to prisoners, the cost and complexity involved in capturing recordings, metadata and monitoring permissions increases significantly.

Blockchain technology deployment in a multi-path wireless network can apportion the requirements of a telecommunication system across many distributed nodes. Blockchain will therefore the reduce the burden on the processing, network, and storage systems of a correctional facility. By enabling the mobile devices within a prison as blockchain and multi-path wireless network nodes, not only can much of the computing requirements be offloaded from a facility’s centralized systems, but the facility can safely and securely maintain the same control and oversight as previously available.

Transaction record-keeping, recording and regulation of inmate device use may be distributed, with security and computing power increasing as a system grows. By implementing a blockchain ledger among mobile nodes via a mesh network in the closed system of a correctional facility, not only is the computing power and network access distributed across these nodes, but the control and records of any transactions within a system may also be distributed and replicated. This structure promotes redundancies and fail safe options not previously available in the traditional centralized architecture.

A distributed blockchain system creates a more permanent and unalterable record than a single database could, while allowing more nodes to function simultaneously. Distributed systems promoted by blockchain technology combined with mesh networking provide correctional facilities the potential to distribute management of the system by giving the nodes the ability to regulate themselves anonymously from each other but transparently to those administering the correctional facility. Not only can more devices be supported, but they can be supported with fewer resources, enhanced redundancy, and increased security.

Blockchain may also reduce the costs of running a secure network, which is important in publicly funded institutions such as correctional facilities. Because blockchain verifies trustworthiness, a centralized server does not need to handle this task. The friction of transactions is reduced, promoting cost and time savings. Key benefits of this system include providing for the wireless communication device to record a voice or video session instead of at the central database, allowing inmates and their families to schedule and pay for voice and video calls via a smart contract, as well as allowing nodes on the network to validate and control permissions, rules and transactions.

Brian Byrne, Managing Partner of meshIP, LLC commented, “With this fifth patent, we leverage the blockchain to enhance the key benefits and mitigate the major challenges of the growing role of mobile devices in correctional environments. There continue to be many industry announcements regarding inmate tablet deployments in prisons and jails, but we believe we are the first and only inmate communications services company innovating on the blockchain to secure and manage these inmate mobile devices. This patent is an important addition to our existing intellectual property which covers the four essential pillars of secure wireless inmate device deployment and management – system, application, device management and device security”

Update (6/24/20): The patent (US10,694,032) was issued yesterday by the United States Patent Office. You can view the patent here: Fifth meshDETECT patent

Update (12/15/20): meshDETECT was awarded its second blockchain patent and seventh patent overall on 12/1/20

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Prisons want jamming technology to stop criminal activity, but critics warn there would be dire consequences if jamming was allowed to propagate.

In June the Department of Justice released a report that declared a solution to prevent criminal activity from happening within prisons: it successfully tested a jammer that would block mobile signals from smuggled cell phones inside a Maryland prison.

Throughout the corrections world the news spread fast. For South Carolina Corrections director Brian Stirling, the news affirmed his beliefs: to stop the flood of mobile phones streaming into prisons, jamming technology was the best, cheapest, and most efficient way to go.

A jammer can be a small, inexpensive box that transmits a continuous tone to antennas, effectively stopping any cell phone from making or receiving calls. Jamming equipment is generally cheap—a Google search turned up dozens of options ranging in price from $119 to $650—and easily available to order online.

But critics warn there would be dire consequences if jamming was allowed to propagate. They argue that there are numerous nefarious reasons—money, control of new systems, and criminal motivations—behind the push to legalize jamming through the corrections system.

“Allowing jamming technology is a very slippery slope, and once that door is opened we can never turn back,” Ben Levitan, a North Carolina-based wireless communication expert who has advised correction facilities, told me by telephone. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years. If someone is advocating for new technology they probably know someone who sells equipment or has a piece themselves.”

Levitan and other technology experts interviewed for this article say there are other effective solutions to control the flood of cell phones in prisons, such as detection systems, which track, locate and identify radio signals, and managed-access systems, in which phone companies filter calls using a predetermined whitelist.

The bigger problem is the high cost of calls from prison, jamming opponents say, and the need for inmates to be in touch with their loved ones.

Read the rest of this article here

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Aisto® is a new, patented, blockchain enabled service from meshIP®. More than just the underlying technology for Bitcoin or other crypto tokens used to facilitate transactions, the blockchain has many practical uses, including within the corrections industry.

A blockchain definition: A blockchain is a database that is distributed among multiple computing devices. A blockchain is formed from blocks, with each block having information related to a transaction and linking the block to a prior block in the chain. The computing devices can each have respective copies of the blockchain, so that no centralized or official copy of the blockchain exists and no computing device is trusted more than any other computing device. When a user initiates a transaction, some or all of the computing devices can verify the transaction. After verifying the transaction, the computing devices can include information related to the transaction into the respective copies of the blockchain. This can be more robust and secure than many other approaches. At a high level, blockchain technology allows a network of computers to agree at regular intervals on the true state of a distributed ledger. The ledger is distributed across many participants in the network — it doesn’t exist in one place. Instead, copies exist and are simultaneously updated with every fully participating node in the ecosystem. A block could represent transactions and data of many types.

To learn more about Aisto, visit https://www.prisoncellphones.com/aisto/

To read about how our blockchain wireless patents enable and protect Aisto®, visit here, here, here and here.

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A cautionary tale for prisons contemplating shelling out millions of dollars for managed access systems to jam contraband cell phones. A prison in New Zealand has spent over $11M (US) in installation and upgrades on a cellular signal jamming system that has not prevented the ongoing use of wireless devices.

Taxpayers have forked out $17 million on cellphone jamming technology for prisons – but inmates continue to be caught with increasing numbers of contraband mobile phones.

Despite a network blocking system designed to stop Mt Eden prisoners using cellphones, footage of a “fight club” found its way out of the Auckland jail and on to social media.

Serco confirmed a cellphone was found during a full search of Mt Eden prison on Monday.

Corrections found 284 of the banned devices in the country’s prisons in the 2013-14 financial year.

The previous financial year the department found 274 cellphones unlawfully held by prisoners or brought in by visitors. It also confiscated 119 phone batteries, 128 chargers and 151 SIM cards.

Corrections’ cellphone jamming system cost a budget-blowing $10.9m to install between 2007 and 2009.  It budgeted $5.7m and nearly $6.7m has been spent since, including almost $2.3m in the first five months of last year on a systems upgrade. That followed a $1.3m spruce-up in 2011, according to records released under the Official Information Act.

Yet it does not seemed to have curbed prisoners’ efforts to smuggle them in – and they would not bother if the phones didn’t work, prison drug and alcohol counsellor Roger Brooking said.

A prison intelligence report this year showed Killer Beez founder Josh Masters was continuing to lead the street gang and arrange drug supply from his prison cell using a smuggled cellphone.

Last year convicted murderer Buddy Campbell used a cellphone to post selfies to his Facebook page while an inmate in Rimutaka prison.

Inmates had previously told Brooking they exploited loopholes, finding they could connect to 2 Degrees when it was first launched, he said.

Brooking said keeping cellphones out of prisoners’ hands to protect the public was a “valid concern”, but $17m could have been better spent on healthcare and counselling.

“I think it’s a complete and utter waste of money.”

The jammers were designed to block cellular access to the internet, Corrections said.

But it would not comment on whether mobile network bands 3G and 4G were covered, saying revealing the information would provide insight to prisoners and their associates.

Corrections national commissioner Jeremy Lightfoot said cellphones were banned to prevent prisoners organising crime, harassing victims and perverting the course of justice.

The department was constantly responding to telecommunications industry evolution in its efforts to keep the public safe.

Current prisoner Arthur Taylor contacted Fairfax to say he was concerned about the cellphone jammers’ radiation, claiming he could see 10 of the devices stationed on his block.

Asked if he thought the jammers worked, Taylor replied: “Cellphone finds were well down before the jammers arrived – due to other security measures.”

Source

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The inmate communication services industry is being fundamentally reshaped by the FCC. Potentially more significant than its predecessor initiative, which significantly reduced prison payphone long-distance rates, the recently issued Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on key drivers of revenue and profit for these prison payphone providers and the prisons themselves.

With the two largest providers of payphone services owned by private equity firms, not usually known for embracing a shrinking profit model, it will be interesting to see how they push their investments to respond – both at the FCC and in the market. One potential bright spot is the increase in call volume achieved post LD rate reduction mentioned below by Commissioner Clyburn. However, with a limited number of payphones per prison facility and call length typically limited to 15 minutes per day, there is a natural cap on the call volume increase that can be hoped for to offset reduced rates and fees. (We do know of one way to provide enhanced access to communications and unlimited calling…)

The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on the following:

• Permanent rate caps on local, intrastate and interstate calling
• What level of cap would ensure coverage of the enhanced security requirements of inmate calling
• The elimination of per-call connection fees
• Prohibiting site commissions as a category for all interstate and intrastate services but permitting facilities to recover any legitimate costs of provisioning inmate calling services
• Capping and restricting ancillary fees, such as fees to open and maintain calling card accounts
• Phasing in these changes, with rate caps being effective in 90 days and a 2-year transition away from site commissions.
• Ensuring that inmate calling services are accessible for all Americans, including inmates and families with disabilities.
• Effective methods of enforcing inmate calling rate rules and reviewing their effect.

According to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler this second rulemaking on prison payphone calls is being undertaken because, “Despite positive steps forward on interstate rates, it is clear that a more comprehensive approach to reform is necessary to address problems that continue to drive up rates. Namely, charges for “ancillary services” for an increasing array of services are on the rise; intrastate rates, which encompass the vast majority of calls from correctional facilities, remain very high in many states; and, most importantly, site commissions – payments required by correctional institutions from ICS providers for the privilege of serving those facilities – continue to be demanded and appear to be the driving force behind increased rates and ancillary fees. There are some positive signs that reform of interstate rates has resulted in reduced rates and increased calling, but absent a comprehensive solution to the problem we will continue to find ourselves in a never ending game of ICS rate whack-a-mole.”

Commissioner Mignon Clyburn stated, “The impact of the first phase of reform of our nation’s inmate calling regime has been tremendous. Our decision shows that doing the right thing can have reverberating benefits. Since February, when the interstate rate caps of $0.21 for debit/prepaid calls and $0.25 for collect calls went into effect, call volumes across state lines have increased nearly 70% in some facilities, and over 300% at one state department of corrections.

These are not just empty statistics. More affordable rates can help bring about increased and regular contact between inmates and their families. Studies show that having meaningful communication beyond prison walls can make a real difference when it comes to maintaining community ties, promoting rehabilitation, and reducing recidivism.”

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