Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Wednesday April 04 2018, @01:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the a-WOPR-of-a-story dept.

In a letter to Senator Ron Wyden, the Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that unknown users are operating IMSI catchers in Washington, D.C.:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is acknowledging for the first time that foreign actors or criminals are using eavesdropping devices to track cellphone activity in Washington, D.C., according to a letter obtained by The Hill.

DHS in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) last Monday said they came across unauthorized cell-site simulators in the Washington, D.C., area last year. Such devices, also known as "stingrays," can track a user's location data through their mobile phones and can intercept cellphone calls and messages.

[...] DHS official Christopher Krebs, the top official leading the NPPD, added in a separate letter accompanying his response that such use "of IMSI catchers by malicious actors to track and monitor cellular users is unlawful and threatens the security of communications, resulting in safety, economic and privacy risks."

DHS said they have not determined the users behind such eavesdropping devices, nor the type of devices being used. The agency also did not elaborate on how many devices it unearthed, nor where authorities located them.

Also at Ars Technica and CNN.

Related: Police: Stingray Device Intercepts Mobile Phones
ACLU Reveals Greater Extent of FBI and Law Enforcement "Stingray" Use
US IRS Bought Stingray, Stingray II, and Hailstorm IMSI-Catchers
EFF Launches the Cell-Site Simulator Section of Street Level Surveillance
NYPD Making Heavy Use of Stingrays
New York Lawmakers Want Local Cops to Get Warrant Before Using Stingray
New Jersey State Police Spent $850,000 on Harris Corp. Stingray Devices


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday April 04 2018, @10:47PM

    by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Wednesday April 04 2018, @10:47PM (#662671) Journal

    We cross-posted above.... What I got out of the paper is that there are synchronization bursts on certain frequencies at certain times, such that a phone can hook itself into the network. But you'd have to recognize and lock on those bursts and DF them. Or look at all signals on a given frequency set and possibly triangulate the tower's side by repeated signals from one bearing. I'm sure that is possible but I'm also sure that it takes considerable specialist knowledge of GSM protocol and somewhat specialized software/equipment to do so.

    As to why they're kept ultra-secret to the point of case dismissal. There is more in heaven and earth, Horatio. But I think it is a mixture of security-by-obscurity (if the details are public then strategies to identify them by the targets is increased and this technology isn't just used domestically - other actors of three letters also have a vested interest in keeping the systems as secret as possible) and as you say, desire to not reveal parallel constructionism - it wouldn't be the first time law enforcement dumps a case to conceal that generally.

    But the point of Stingrays might be much narrower than content capture - identify the phones (including burners) so that they may be targeted for legitimately warranted surveillance by their identification numbers, not just names. Or possibly by name and then use the Stingray to get the proper numbers so that only the proper phone is surveilled. Which is why (if I get the timeline correctly) they were used for quite awhile before a prosecutor got zealous and thought that the fruits could be used as evidence by themselves. You're right the whole thing smacks of parallel constructionism and as such no department in their right mind will allow the process to be compromised.

    --
    This sig for rent.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2