Fake Cell Towers Intercepting Calls

[Junior]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mysterious-fake-cellphone-towers-intercepting-162645809.html

 

 

 

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.

 

 

[NUance]

The article I read said it's not NSA. But I'll bet dollars to donuts it's some agency of the U.S. gov't. I'm guessing a military intelligence agency. Since most of the fake towers were outside military bases. No way it's anyone from outside the U.S.

[Junior]

http://io9.com/fake-cell-phone-towers-could-be-taking-control-of-your-1630378142

 

[Junior]

The article I read said it's not NSA. But I'll bet dollars to donuts it's some agency of the U.S. gov't. I'm guessing a military intelligence agency. Since most of the fake towers were outside military bases. No way it's anyone from outside the U.S.

 

Yea, seems likely to be some sort of government agency. Disturbing, to be sure.

[TGHusker]

https://www.blackphone.ch/

 

Supposedly the new 'black phone' is build to keep all things secured and private. As it stands now, all of our smart phones tell the govt where we are at any time and nothing is really private.

[ZRod]

Did you guys read the link to the "Stingray" tracking? That is just as interesting to me. That local governments are denying the public any information on the system or how it is being used is unnerving.

 

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

[tschu]

Well if there's one benefit to living in Nebraska, being in the middle of nowhere means we're largely safe from this crap!

[sd'sker]

Well if there's one benefit to living in Nebraska, being in the middle of nowhere means we're largely safe from this crap!

that's what i was thinking. i don't have to worry about real towers tracking me, let alone fake ones.

[Hingle McCringleberry]

Well if there's one benefit to living in Nebraska, being in the middle of nowhere means we're largely safe from this crap!

 

 

This kind of crap is everywhere. Offutt AFB is one of the most important bases in the US, if this is a DoD thing, I'm willing to bet they have, or will have, them. Off topic but to your living in NE point, LPD already has cameras on cruises to read your plates, and thousands of others. The State Pat wants to build a system on the interstate that will scan every plate that passes.... We are all being spied on, even in little ol' NE...

[VectorVictor]

Well if there's one benefit to living in Nebraska, being in the middle of nowhere means we're largely safe from this crap!

 

All things considered, I figure Omaha would be ripe for this sort of stuff.

[HUSKER 37]

My 13 year old Son pointed out a couple of these in our neighborhood a few monhs ago...Makes me glad I forget to charge my phone...or where it is.