Collaborate Disseminate
In September 2019, attribution was given to Israel for the IMSI catchers discovered in Washington, D.C. two years earlier, shining light on the prevalence of these types of spying devices. Once used solely by law enforcement as a way of finding th… Continue reading Protecting High-Level Personnel from IMSI Catchers
CEO walks out of nondescript office building accompanied by COLLEAGUE. CEO pulls smartphone out of her purse to study a restaurant’s website. Her smartphone’s status bar blinks briefly to indicate a change in cellular connection sta… Continue reading The spies in our cell networks
Researchers have discovered security holes in 5G, 4G and 3G telephony protocols, which can expose a user’s location. Continue reading Security weaknesses in 5G, 4G and 3G could expose users’ locations
At this year’s Electromagnetic Field hacking and culture festival, attendees’ badges were fully functioning phones. But hackers gonna hack. Continue reading Hacker Camp Makes DIY Phones, Is Bombarded by DIY IMSI Catcher
The 4G wireless telecommunications protocol is vulnerable to the same types of remote exploitation as its 3G predecessor, new research emphasizes. As with the flaw-ridden protocol underlying 3G, the 4G protocol is susceptible to attacks that disclose mobile users’ information or impose a denial of service, according to a report from mobile-security company Positive Technologies. Security researchers have long warned that spies or hackers could exploit the protocol supporting 3G — known as Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) — to intercept or track call data. The move from 3G to 4G, and the latter’s Diameter protocol, was supposed to mitigate some vulnerabilities, but security experts also have made clear that Diameter is no safeguard against hacking. While the new research indicates 4G is vulnerable to a smaller scope of attacks than 3G, it shows that attackers could shift a user’s device to 3G mode to exploit the less-secure SS7. Further, most mobile […]
The post 4G is vulnerable to same types of attacks as 3G, researchers say appeared first on Cyberscoop.
Continue reading 4G is vulnerable to same types of attacks as 3G, researchers say
The Department of Homeland Security has received reports that “nefarious actors” may be exploiting cellular communications vulnerabilities to spy on Americans, according to Chris Krebs, a senior DHS official. Cybersecurity experts have warned that longstanding vulnerabilities in the telephony protocol known as Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) could allow spying on callers and interception of their data. Krebs revealed the possible exploitation of SS7 in a May 22 letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that also said DHS had “received reports from third parties about the unauthorized use” of mobile surveillance devices. The devices in question, known as Stingrays or IMSI catchers, imitate a cell tower to capture caller location and other associated data. They have been used by U.S. law enforcement for years, but their use for foreign espionage and hacking in the U.S. has been a source of speculation. From January to November 2017, DHS deployed sensors in Washington, […]
The post DHS: ‘Nefarious actors’ could be exploiting SS7 flaw appeared first on Cyberscoop.
Continue reading DHS: ‘Nefarious actors’ could be exploiting SS7 flaw
DHS has detected IMSI catchers that track phones and intercept calls Continue reading Washington DC “awash” with fake cell towers
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is requesting information from the Department of Homeland Security concerning the use of foreign cell phone surveillance devices in the U.S., according a letter posted Monday to the Senator’s website. Wyden’s inquiry specifically looks at issues surrounding the use of IMSI catchers, also known as international mobile subscriber identity collectors. An IMSI catcher is an inexpensive spying tool that can essentially act as a fake cell phone tower to intercept calls, text messages and other location information that normally emits from mobile phones. The letter, dated Nov. 17, asks Christopher Krebs, an acting DHS undersecretary, if the agency is aware of foreign-operated IMSI catchers in the Washington, D.C. area or in other major cities. “I am very concerned by this threat and urge the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve its efforts to detect such activity,” Wyden writes. “Foreign government surveillance of senior American political and […]
The post Senator questions DHS about surveillance technology used in U.S. by foreign spies appeared first on Cyberscoop.
Continue reading Senator questions DHS about surveillance technology used in U.S. by foreign spies
The culprit exploits a design feature of older 2G networks in a type of man-in-the-middle attack Continue reading Soldiers sent hate-SMS messages from rogue base stations
Israel, China, Russia? Who was using a surveillance device on Parliament Hill in Ottawa? Continue reading Why It’s So Hard to Say Who Is Using an IMSI Catcher