EFF launches open-source tool that can detect unauthorized cellular spying

What just happened? Street-level surveillance technologies such as automated license plate readers, facial recognition systems, and cell-site simulators (CSS) have become increasingly prevalent. Among these, CSS, also known as Stingrays or IMSI catchers, are particularly concerning due to their ability to masquerade as legitimate cellular towers, intercepting and logging sensitive information from mobile devices. As such, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has developed an open-source tool called Rayhunter to help detect and understand the use of these devices. CSS operate by mimicking cell towers, tricking nearby phones into connecting to them instead of legitimate towers. This allows law enforcement to pinpoint phone locations with greater accuracy than other methods and log unique identifiers like IMSI numbers and IMEIs without involving phone companies. Some CSS can even intercept communications under certain conditions, including phone calls, text messages, and mobile inter ... Read full article.