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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
(Score: 3, Informative) by captain normal on Wednesday April 04 2018, @04:59PM
Wonder what hat The Hill pulled that out out of the letter the DHS sent to Sen. Wyden?
"[T]he National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) has observed anomalous activity in the National Capital Region that appears to be consistent with International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers,..."
"DHS said they have not determined the users behind such eavesdropping devices, nor the type of devices being used"
While we can't expect bureaucrats and politicians to be really technically knowledgeable, here at S/N we're supposed to be well grounded EEs and technicians. While there could be some malicious players tracking cell signals, personally I think that there is probably a much less malevolent explanation. Cell phone signal boosters operate in a similar fashion, by grabbing the signal from a cell phone and then connecting to a tower with an amplified signal. They can be used in a car or truck. One can walk into Best Buy or Fry's and buy them.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/weboost-drive-4g-m-cellular-signal-booster-black/3247029.p? [bestbuy.com]
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