Mysterious Fake Cellphone Towers Are Intercepting Calls All Over The US

[Blue_Tires]

Seventeen fake cellphone towers were discovered across the U.S. last week, according to a report in Popular Science.
Rather than offering you cellphone service, the towers appear to be connecting to nearby phones, bypassing their encryption, and either tapping calls or reading texts.

Les Goldsmith, the CEO of ESD America, used ESD's CryptoPhone 500 to detect 17 bogus cellphone towers. ESD is a leading American defense and law enforcement technology provider based in Las Vegas.

With most phones, these fake communication towers are undetectable. But not for the CryptoPhone 500, a customized Android device that is disguised as a Samsung Galaxy S III but has highly advanced encryption.

Goldsmith told Popular Science: "Interceptor use in the U.S. is much higher than people had anticipated. One of our customers took a road trip from Florida to North Carolina and he found eight different interceptors on that trip. We even found one at South Point Casino in Las Vegas.”

The towers were found in July, but the report implied that there may have been more out there.

Although it is unclear who owns the towers, ESD found that several of them were located near U.S. military bases.

"Whose interceptor is it? Who are they, that's listening to calls around military bases? Is it just the U.S. military, or are they foreign governments doing it? The point is: we don't really know whose they are," Goldsmith said to Popular Science.

http://www.businessinsider.com/mysterious-fake-cellphone-towers-intercept-calls-2014-9


I imagine it would be pretty easy to find out who the owners are -- Start damaging or vandalizing the towers, and see who complains...

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Thank you very much

For posting this.

[Lars39]

2. Whelp, got my head shaking wtf for the day.

K n R

[FLPanhandle]

3. I would trust this more if it wasn't coming from the company selling the CryptoPhone 500

The article sounds like half news half advertisement.

[ThoughtCriminal]

7. +1

It seems to me that the NAS (or whoever) would not need fake towers to intercept calls.

[LeftyMom]

9. Cops use the fake towers too. The device is called Stingray. Its' existence isn't news.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_phone_tracker

[WovenGems]

15. Proof!!

The article is indeed an advertisement.

[LeftyMom]

17. No, it's documentig their widespread domestic use.

They were initially a War On Terra thing, to be mounted on drones and flown over AfPakIrMen for drone targeting.

[Warren DeMontague]

29. War on terra - meaning "set one up in the parking lot of a Phish concert, and wait for a person

To call their friend saying 'lets go smoke a bowl' "

[LeftyMom]

36. Protests I'm sure.

[MADem]

51. Great link--very informative. They have "rolling" versions too...who knew????? nt

[1StrongBlackMan]

11. I suspect ...

to soon see a version of the DU Dance, called: the "DU Back-pedal" or, the more typical, "DU Drop", as is normally the case when we latch onto liberty threatening Non-news stories.

[MADem]

50. Yes indeed--sounds like they're trying to create a market for their product... nt

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. well people should know better and only use landlines and speak in tongues to each other.

else they are clearly to blame for any breach of privacy that may occur.

[SheilaT]

16. You remind me that many years ago

a co-worker and I used to speak to each other in French. Made our co-workers nervous and suspicious sometimes, which we though hilarious because we were NEVER talking about them. And usually our conversation in French was far more trivial than our conversations in English.

So my point is we should all speak total nonsense all the time to each other.

Oh, wait, some of us do that anyway.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

18. LOL. i was just being facetious

[SheilaT]

19. Oh, yes, I know, which is exactly why I thought of the long-ago French conversations.

Our co-workers were hilariously nervous about it, and we were quite frankly appalled that none of them spoke other languages. Except for Frank, whom we affectionately called The Kraut because he was originally from Germany and did speak fluent German.

[truedelphi]

5. It is rather a serious problem that Goldsmith states, "Is it jsut the US military?"

Really, is it okay if it is just the US military?

What a damn fascist nation we now live in.

[Dont call me Shirley]

8. Authoritarian-Totalitarian State too

[nashville_brook]

6. imagine how much it must cost to build a fake cell tower

this isn't your neighborhood phone phreak -- this is folks who are looking for high value information.

[drm604]

10. Why haven't they been reported to the FCC?

It has to be illegal, right? Report them to the FCC and they'll shut them down and prosecute the owners.

If they don't shut them down, then you've discovered that the government is either the owner or protecting the owner. At which point you can start asking tough questions and threatening lawsuits.

[underpants]

13. I think it is pretty clear that this is the Feds

That was my first take on it anyway. Probably approved as National Security so it will be next to impossible to ever get to the root.

[bananas]

22. It's local police, see post #21. nt

[underpants]

34. D'oh!

[Recursion]

45. No, it's a marketing gimmick by ESD America

Hey, look! If you use the phone we sell, you can detect these "mysterious towers" that aren't detectable by any other phone!

[Recursion]

46. Assuming this is real and not marketing, I'm guessing China

However, "The product I sell can detect these towers and no other product can" sends up red flags (no pun intended) to me.

[Enthusiast]

12. They're from space.

[url=http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php][img][/img][/url]

[Autumn]

14. NSA, who else.

[bananas]

21. Not the NSA, these are local police operations

From the article:

In an amazing coincidence, police departments in a handful of U.S. cities have been operating "Stingray" or "Hailstorm" towers, which — you guessed it — conduct surveillance on mobile phone activity. They do that by jamming mobile phone signals, forcing phones to drop down from 4G and 3G network bands to the older, more insecure 2G band.

That links to this article:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/09/cities-scramble-to-upgrade-stingray-tracking-as-end-of-2g-network-looms/

Cities scramble to upgrade “stingray” tracking as end of 2G network looms
Oakland is latest city confirmed seeking Hailstorm upgrade, targeting 4G LTE.

by Cyrus Farivar - Sept 1 2014, 7:35am PST

OAKLAND, CA—Documents released last week by the City of Oakland reveal that it is one of a handful of American jurisdictions attempting to upgrade an existing cellular surveillance system, commonly known as a stingray.

The Oakland Police Department, the nearby Fremont Police Department, and the Alameda County District Attorney jointly applied for a grant from the Department of Homeland Security to "obtain a state-of-the-art cell phone tracking system," the records show.

Stingray is a trademark of its manufacturer, publicly traded defense contractor Harris Corporation, but "stingray" has also come to be used as a generic term for similar devices.

The cellular surveillance system's upgrade, known as Hailstorm, is necessary. Existing stingray devices will no longer work in a few years as older phone networks get turned off.

<snip>

[Louisiana1976]

38. That's life in a fascist police state.

[dreamnightwind]

42. Thanks for that link

Very interesting. And apparently these local police are getting funding for these operations from the Department of Homeland Security.

The Oakland Police Department, the nearby Fremont Police Department, and the Alameda County District Attorney jointly applied for a grant from the Department of Homeland Security to "obtain a state-of-the-art cell phone tracking system," the records show.

[hedgehog]

20. If you want to attract a crowd in any rural area, just show up with a surveyor's transit -

I'm trying to imagine how anyone could place a secret cell tower without attracting the notice of the locals.

[Ford_Prefect]

25. If the trucks and crews looked like some form of utility services

most likely they would be ignored.

[hedgehog]

27. Are you kidding me? Landowners with a right of way cutting their property

would be all over a utility crew to make sure that the grounds are restored to their original appearance (i.e not tire tracks, etc.)

[Android3.14]

26. Ever read the Purloined Letter?

Workers are putting stuff up all the time and we just drive on by without asking, "I wonder if they are really doing utility work? I'll call the town and find out."
It rarely happens.
Remember this video?

&list=PLDD1D131D33052E18

[hedgehog]

30. I'm not talking about people driving by, I'm talking about near-by land owners.

I would imagine suburban land owners would be even more suspicious since they would object to the sight of a cell tower.

[Android3.14]

37. They are unobtrusive compared to other cell towers

They could probably mount one on an existing utility pole or even on an existing cell tower. Seriously, people rarely question anything if there is a panel truck nearby.
I own land and when the utility guys are nearby, I usually just assume they are working on utility stuff, and I'm a fairly paranoid person.

[Thor_MN]

28. Did you notice when your legitimate cell "tower" went in? Or were it is?

They are not always "Towers". Many cell transceivers are mounted on buildings and other tall structures. The goal is to cover as large an area as possible.

If your goal is to be discrete, the equipment could be installed inside a building, a truck, whatever.

[hedgehog]

31. Now, that I could believe.

[bananas]

40. A lot of them are disguised as trees - seriously!

Google cell phone tower evergreen tree for lots of pictures - there's a wide variety:
https://www.google.com/search?q=cell+phone+tower+evergreen+tree&tbm=isch

Many local governments require them to be disguised for aesthetics:

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/council-oks-cell-tower-rules/article_dc771bd3-a733-5210-bb8f-3ccefbf97ad8.html

Council OKs cell tower rules
Will protect some trees in residential areas

A cell phone tower disguised with artificial evergreen branches, is surrounded by pine and deciduous trees near Tanglewood Park.

Posted: Tuesday, September 2, 2014 10:30 pm
Wesley Young/Winston-Salem Journal

<snip>

Cell towers are getting more common because of the popularity of devices that rely on them, and in February the council approved new rules to allow cell towers in residential neighborhoods.

Then officials realized there was a hole in the rules: While there was a requirement to place cell towers that look like trees in wooded areas only, there was no requirement that the trees had to be kept standing.

Kirk Ericson, with the City-County planning staff, said the new rules require trees to remain in a circular area around a cell tower that has a radius as long as the tower is tall.

<snip>

Here's one disguised as a cactus:

http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/11-25-2012_the-unaesthetic-american-cell-tower.htm

The Unaesthetic American Cell Tower
Ma Bell's Children Are Philistines
By: Mark Favermann - 11/25/2012

[justiceischeap]

41. Where I live in MD, there is a "Fir" tree cell tower nearby. I had to double-take when I first saw

it. It didn't look right... it looked like something disguised as a tree (which, of course, it is). But I appreciate the effort they put into making it look like it should blend.

[cui bono]

47. Interesting! Because I noticed a fake palm tree just off the 10 in Los Angeles...

I might go check it out when I finish this job.

Anyone in L.A., it's just off the westbound side of the 10, probably around Crenshaw... wonder if anyone else noticed it. I first saw it a month or two ago and wondered why there would be a fake palm tree in the middle of a city where palm trees grow like weeds out of cracks in the freeway!

[MADem]

52. According to the link in this thread, they have portable/rolling versions of this thing, too. nt

[hifiguy]

23. I am really starting to think that

EVERY GODDAMN poiice department in the country needs to be torn to smithereens and that we should start all over again.

Orwell was actually optimistic.

[Earth_First]

33. Works for me!

Although I'm waiting for someone to complain how openly vandalizing defense/law enforcement property is against TOS, unethical...blah, blah, blah...

[AtheistCrusader]

24. Just do what they do to the speeding ticket cameras in the UK.

Couple old tires... Some diesel...

[jtuck004]

32. Hayduke Lives!

"I imagine it would be pretty easy to find out who the owners are -- Start damaging or vandalizing the towers, and see who complains..." <

[randome]

35. This guy always seems to know something.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game. -Existenz[/center][/font][hr]

[quadrature]

39. stop taking nude selfies...

unless you want the all over the internet

[wildbilln864]

43. k & r & thanks for posting! nt

[Recursion]

44. You mean, "guy who sells phone firmware claims...

... that his firmware is immune to interception from these 'strange towers' that only his phones can detect"?

[cheapdate]

48. Just to be clear, what's being discussed are NOT actual, physical, cell-phone towers,

which would be nearly impossible to erect clandestinely, but technology that mimics a cell phone tower. The "interceptor" technology discussed in the article isn't actual, physical, cell-phone towers, but technology that mimics cell phone towers for the purpose of intercepting cell phone calls.

[cascadiance]

49. A few questions on Cryptophones though...

Hard to find even googling...

1. Which carrier networks can they talk to? Can they hook up to Sprint networks? That would be cool for those with Credo subscriptions which sits on Sprint networks. Credo might want to try and offer them if they are found to be a good alternative to prevent spying as a more activist company.

2. If they only connect to WIFI networks and not other cell networks, doesn't that limit their scope compared to other cell phones?

3. If everyone else you are talking to is using regular cell phones, and their communications to you with your cryptophone is decrypted at some point, doesn't that take away from the purpose of it? In other words, to have truly encrypted conversations do you have to talk to someone else who also has a cryptophone?

Cryptophones might be good for a team of journalists, or something like that where they don't want to be spied upon and can have all of their team getting the same phone, etc. but at $1000 a crack for some of these phones that I've seen priced online, it seems to be difficult as an option to look at now for most of the rest of us, even if we wanted to get their features. I'm in the market to replace my cracked cell now, but I'm thinking perhaps getting one of these now is still premature.

[oldandhappy]

53. Is a land line a good idea?

This sounds as if it is more government monitoring us. Is there more privacy on a land line -- not that I have anything to hide. Just the creepy idea of the government having fingers in all parts of our lives.