"Rogue" Network Of Cellular Eavesdropping Devices Discovered Throughout Washington D.C.

[Swordsmyth]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has acknowledged a 2017 discovery of several "rogue devices" placed throughout Washington D.C. often used by spies and criminals to track and eavesdrop on private cellular devices, AP (https://apnews.com/d716aac4ad744b4cae3c6b13dce12d7e?utm_campaign=Soci alFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true) reports.

The DHS admission came in a March 26 response to a November request (https://www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wyden-rogue-imsi-catcher-letter-to-dhs.pdf) from Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D), however the agency did not say how many devices were detected or where they found them.

The agency’s response, obtained by The Associated Press from Wyden’s office, suggests little has been done about such equipment, known popularly as Stingrays after a brand common among U.S. police departments. The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the nation’s airwaves, formed a task force on the subject four years ago, but it never produced a report and no longer meets regularly. -AP (https://apnews.com/d716aac4ad744b4cae3c6b13dce12d7e?utm_campaign=Soci alFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true)
American intelligence and law enforcement agencies use similar eavesdropping equipment in the field, which can cost anywhere between $1,000 to around $200,000. The devices are typically the size of a briefcase but can be as small as a cell phone. Police use Stingrays to track down and implicate perpetrators of mainly domestic crimes.
The devices can be mounted in vehicles, drones, helicopters, and airplanes, allowing police to gain highly specific information on the location of any particular phone, down to a particular apartment complex or hotel room.
The Stingray units operate by tricking a cellular device into locking onto them instead of a legitimate cell tower - revealing the exact location of a particular phone. As AP notes, more sophisticated versions can eavesdrop on calls by forcing phones to step down to the older, unencrypted 2G wireless channel. Other Stingray devices can plant malware on a phone.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/IMG_20170927_095405_179_0.jpg
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/20171129_stingray_0_0.jpg

Thousands of members of the military, the NSA, the CIA, the FBI and the rest of the national-security apparatus live and work in the Washington area. The surveillance-savvy among them encrypt their phone and data communications and employ electronic countermeasures. But unsuspecting citizens could fall prey. -AP
The DHS reply from official Christopher Krebs said that the agency had observed "anomalous activity" consistent with Stingrays in the Washington area. Another DHS official speaking anonymously to AP says that the devices were detected during a three-month trial of equipment (https://www.rsaconference.com/videos/project-overwatch-multinational-effort-to-combat-imsi-catchers) provided by Las Vegas-based agency contractor, ESD America (http://esdamerica.com/).

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-03/rogue-network-cellular-eavesdropping-devices-discovered-throughout-dc

[Swordsmyth]

Four U.S. senators on Wednesday urged the U.S. Homeland Security Department (DHS) to disclose additional information about unusual cellular surveillance activity that has been detected around the nation’s capital.
The senators – Ron Wyden and Ed Markey, both Democrats, and Republicans Rand Paul and Cory Gardner – said the Trump administration should make public additional details about possible surveillance using cellphone-site simulators around Washington.
“The American people have a legitimate interest in understanding the extent to which U.S. telephone networks are vulnerable to surveillance and are being actively exploited by hostile actors,” the four said in a letter reviewed by Reuters.
Homeland Security did not immediately comment, but said in a March 26 letter to Wyden that DHS “has observed anomalous activity in the National Capital Region that appears to be consistent with International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers. (DHS) has not validated or attributed such activity to specific entities or devices”.

More at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-phones-surveillance/four-u-s-senators-seek-details-on-unusual-cellular-surveillance-in-d-c-area-idUSKBN1HP1FJ

[goldenequity]

Ha... tip of the iceberg.
Think 'law enforcement' and 'spy agencies' are the only ones with Stingrays?
nope. nope. nope.
Wall Street has been using them for YEARS.
In D.C.
at the Capitol.
think about it.

[Swordsmyth]

The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that a device used to eavesdrop on cell phones and other electronic devices was detected near the White House, prompting concerns that it may have been used to spy on key government officials - including President Trump's non-secure iPhones (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/21/trump-phone-security-risk-hackers-601903). https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/800%20%281%29_0_1.jpeg
The letter from DHS official Christopher Krebs hilariously begins by thanking Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (D) for meeting with him "to discuss your objection to Senate consideration of the President's nomination for me to serve as the Under Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD)."
Krebs' letter is a follow-up to an April communication (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-03/rogue-network-cellular-eavesdropping-devices-discovered-throughout-dc) with Wyden in which he revealed that "anomalous activity" was detected in Washington D.C. consistent with "stingray" surveillance devices during an NPPD pilot program.
In a new response posted by Senator Wyden, Krebs admits that "While the NPPD pilot did observe anomolous activity that appeared consistent with IMSI catcher technology within the NCR, including locations in proximity to potentially sensitive facilities like the White House, NPPD has neither validated nor attributed such activity to specific entities, devices, or purposes."
In other words - someone was probably trying to spy on the White House and other "sensitive facilities," but DHS has no clue who it was or why they did it.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-06-01/dhs-confirms-rogue-cellular-eavesdropping-device-may-have-been-used-near-white

[Weston White]

Wasn't life just so much nicer when Stingray was just a really totally freaking awesome Corvette?