An interesting security issue

[Trouble]

Was just reading this and thought I would pass it along.
https://apnews.com/d716aac4ad744b4cae3c6b13dce12d7e

Krebs, the top official in the department’s National Protection and Programs Directorate, noted in the letter that DHS lacks the equipment and funding to detect Stingrays even though their use by foreign governments “may threaten U.S. national and economic security.”

Seems like something we might decide to spend some money on.

 

[Norton]

Interesting!

 

[Wolfie]

HI @Trouble,

I would have thought that that is quite old news as each country has it's spies running around everywhere, I am quite sure that the devices are/have been in use for a very long time in one form or another?.

 

[Trouble]

You're probably right but it's just recently that it has risen to the level of news.
The AP report that I linked to was the first time I noticed it at all and only later in the day did it get a brief mention on some broadcast news stations.
AND
I believe that the level of sophistication has made them more generally available and useable in both the public and private sector.
They've probably been around but as was discussed on a TV program I was watching they have generally been a pretty closely gaurded secret, and now as is the case with a lot of tech they've become more affordable as well as more plentiful.

It would be really valuable I suppose if you could get one that would work like a "man in the middle" where you could allow the call to be passed on to the intended receipient while monitoring it the whole time.
Maybe dozens or even hundreds of calls simultaneously havesting voice as well as data.....
Kinda scary if you ask me.

 

[davehc]

HI @Trouble,

I would have thought that that is quite old news as each country has it's spies running around everywhere, I am quite sure that the devices are/have been in use for a very long time in one form or another?.

Exactly. I would even suspect that deranged country leaders could motivate the action in order to spy on their own aids and peers.

 

[Tim Locke]

Every good modern thriller or spy novel has the NSA being able to listen to everything and also do the Man in the Middle attack. Charles listening to Alice's conversation with Bob.

 

[Norton]

Spy listening devices have been around since around since Dr. Who LOL

 

[Wolfie]

Yes @Norton but Dr Who is a "Time Traveller" and not a "Telecom Traveller"!.

 

[xenogen]

There are spies among us? Who would of thunk it? I am sure we do the same in other countries, furthermore, shutting down these devices could potentially shut down law enforcement operations. Since the feds use encryption, they don't care about these threats.