Communication security

WHO IS TRACKING D.C. CELL PHONES? HOMELAND SECURITY CONFIRMS FINDING SURVEILLANCE DEVICES IN WASHINGTON

An undisclosed number of surveillance devices known as “Stingrays”—used to track and intercept smartphone communications by posing as legitimate cell towers—are suspected to be in operation across Washington D.C., leading to fears foreign governments are using them to snoop on the capitol. 

Homeland Security revealed in a March 26 response to Democratic senator Ron Wyden that its National Protection and Programs Directorate [NPPD] had spotted “anomalous activity…that appears to be consistent with International Mobile Subscriber Identity [IMSI] catchers,”—the formal name for the technology.

The NPPD acknowledged that the “malicious use of IMSI catchers is a real and growing risk” and said use by foreign spies would be unlawful and has the potential to threaten the security of communications and personal privacy of U.S. citizens.