Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
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Re: Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
#2I'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.
Re: Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
#3As 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.
Re: Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
#4My understanding is that all stingrays are by definition hostile.
Re: Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
#5My understanding is that all stingrays are by definition hostile.
And if the NSA and FBI had devoted less energy to turning this country into a corrupt republic on its way to a totalitarian nightmare, I am sure they would have had the ability and resources to ensure that such stingrays were impossible to set up.
Re: Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
#6As 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.
Yes, I'm sure both likely exist, but that doesn't make Stingrays operated by eg. China, Iran, DPRK, Russia any less of a problem !
Re: Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
#7I wasn't familiar with the term 'stingray', so this headline was both confusing an amusing to me. I was confused about why they would even be looking for 'hostile' cartilaginous fish. I can't be the only one.
Re: Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
#8For those confused about the terminology in the title...
> The devices, which are also known as stingrays or IMSI catchers, are commonly used by domestic law enforcement nationwide to locate a particular phone. Sometimes, they can also be used to intercept text messages and phone calls. Stingrays act as a fake cell tower and effectively trick a cell phone into transmitting to it, which gives up the phone’s location.
Re: Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
#9Why can't they find them the same way government agencies normally enforce radio licensing? Drive around with a receiver (a cell phone, basically) enumerating all the purported cell towers in a geographic area, then cross-check that with a list of legitimate carrier infrastructure?
Re: Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them
#10I 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 can think of is being operated from embassies with full diplomatic protections, but that runs the risk of the host county (USA) PNG'ing several staff with 24 hour notice as punishment.
Quick edit: Whole US federal agencies have their own TSCM (technical surveillance countermeasures) staff entirely separate from the FCC. It is a job position at the dept of state. Evolved from bug detection and removal in the analog days to now encompass just about everything that can leak data.