41–50 of 101 posts
I'd say let's hope they'll remember that the next time they'll ask for backdoors in some other technology. But in reality I have very little hope that they will.
New technology only stays in the hands of "our team" for so long before ultimately showing up on our doorstep. Especially when that's low cost surveillance technology...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>It would be very risky to operate, even briefly, a portable imsi catcher in a briefcase and move it around WA DC, nevermind one that remained in fixed locations for hours. how about quick switching between several [semi-stationary or briefcase carried] catchers (by analogy with an old Russia/USSR anti-aircraft tactic of quickly switching between several radars to avoid being detected and locked-in by an anti-radar m…
Theoretically possible. Using current off the shelf tech, several imsi catchers could be networked together by normal LTE data networks with battle tested VPN crypto. Doable with any mifi type hotspot device or even just a modern phone and tethering. People with high end spectrum analyzers and directional antennas would struggle to locate a thing that only powers on for 1-2 minutes, and the relocated to a random loca…
As a resident, let me pose to you this : The government doesn't always know what the rest of the government is doing. I would be surprised if there weren't rogue Stingray's out there, and even more not surprised that it's some discreet arm of the government.
(That list may sound idiotic, but you can't make this shit up - there's examples where I live of those exact agencies (and more) requesting warrantless access to telecommunications metadata: https://www.smh.com.au/technology/dozens-of-government-agenc... )
I work in wireless telecom: Really doubtful "we don't know how to find them". The FCC's enforcement bureau has a set of vans equipped to find unauthorized transmitters. IMSI catchers must transmit and remain on the air. It would be very risky to operate, even briefly, a portable imsi catcher in a briefcase and move it around WA DC, nevermind one that remained in fixed locations for hours. The only other explanation I…
I'm laughing because that's how this discussion will go when posted here: We'll detail a method to catch rogue sting-rays, then brainstorm how to operate them with less risk.
By knowing how to hack, one knows how to defend. But knowing how to defend also imparts the knowledge to hack.
Layman question: one can limit their exposure with encrypted VoIP communications (e.g. FaceTime) and chats (iMessage, Signal), correct? That being said, the intercepter would still know: - phone being connected (IMEI) - location of the phone - which servers were requested, but not the encrypted content (yet) - how much data was transmitted, "call time" So if two phones were talking with each other over FaceTime conne…
Re: your last sentence, a stingray rarely if ever offers actual network connectivity, either ss7 or data. Its purpose is just to catch the unique ID numbers from the phone. Whatever you have set into your phone for LTE APN data settings isn't going to work with a random imsi catcher. Such a thing won't have an uplink anyways outside of its command/control functions.
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Re: your last sentence, a stingray rarely if ever offers actual network connectivity, either ss7 or data. Its purpose is just to catch the unique ID numbers from the phone. Whatever you have set into your phone for LTE APN data settings isn't going to work with a random imsi catcher. Such a thing won't have an uplink anyways outside of its command/control functions.
Doesn't that make them really detectable? A deadspot with full signal bars would be really suspicious.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Theoretically possible. Using current off the shelf tech, several imsi catchers could be networked together by normal LTE data networks with battle tested VPN crypto. Doable with any mifi type hotspot device or even just a modern phone and tethering. People with high end spectrum analyzers and directional antennas would struggle to locate a thing that only powers on for 1-2 minutes, and the relocated to a random loca…
I'm not a wireless expert, but then wouldn't it also be theoretically possible to have a network of direction finders? Isn't direction finding also a repeatable set of steps that can benefit from automation?
Does turning one's phone off not disable pinging cell towers?
[1] https://cellularprivacy.github.io/Android-IMSI-Catcher-Detec...