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Mysterious, Phony Cell Towers Found Throughout US
Trachman writes: Popular Science magazine recently published an article about a network of cell towers owned not by telecommunication companies but by unknown third parties. Many of them are built around U.S. military bases. "Interceptors vary widely in expense and sophistication – but in a nutshell, they are radio-equipped computers with software that can use arcane cellular network protocols and defeat the onboard encryption. ... Some interceptors are limited, only able to passively listen to either outgoing or incoming calls. But full-featured devices like the VME Dominator, available only to government agencies, can not only capture calls and texts, but even actively control the phone, sending out spoof texts, for example."
We could listen to AMPS cell phone calls by tuning to the high UHF channels and tuning between channels... Ahhh anyone remember the joy of pressing the outer tuning ring and going back and forth???
Mostly random stuff.
Um, where did the article go?
Google shows that the article did exist, but no longer
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Interceptors+vary+widely+in+expense+and+sophistication+%E2%80%93+but+in+a+nutshell%2C+they+are+radio-equipped+computers%22&oq=%22Interceptors+vary+widely+in+expense+and+sophistication+%E2%80%93+but+in+a+nutshell%2C+they+are+radio-equipped+computers%22
You know, cellular networks use radio, folks. When you're transmitting electromagnetic radiation using the fabric of spacetime as your communications medium, it becomes rather quite difficult to prevent interception. Learn to use encryption and quit your whining.
The article says ...
What we find suspicious is that a lot of these interceptors are right on top of U.S. military bases.
The summary says ...
Many of them are built around U.S. military bases.
Way to slant the summary to make it look like Chinese towers rather than our towers.
It's a thinly veiled ad for a supposedly "secure" cell phone.
intercept non-approved communications about kjhfgdt kans hwwpfu alowk nh ar akhde.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Source.
Mysterious Phony Cell Towers Could Be Intercepting Your Calls
Wed, 08/27/2014 - 11:00
Unencrypted Connection Les Goldsmith Like many of the ultra-secure phones that have come to market in the wake of Edward Snowden's leaks, the CryptoPhone 500, which is marketed in the U.S. by ESD America and built on top of an unassuming Samsung Galaxy SIII body, features high-powered encryption. Les Goldsmith, the CEO of ESD America, says the phone also runs a customized or "hardened" version of Android that removes 468 vulnerabilities that his engineering team team found in the stock installation of the OS.
His mobile security team also found that the version of the Android OS that comes standard on the Samsung Galaxy SIII leaks data to parts unknown 80-90 times every hour. That doesn't necessarily mean that the phone has been hacked, Goldmsith says, but the user can't know whether the data is beaming out from a particular app, the OS, or an illicit piece of spyware. His clients want real security and control over their device, and have the money to pay for it.
To show what the CryptoPhone can do that less expensive competitors cannot, he points me to a map that he and his customers have created, indicating 17 different phony cell towers known as “interceptors,” detected by the CryptoPhone 500 around the United States during the month of July alone. Interceptors look to a typical phone like an ordinary tower. Once the phone connects with the interceptor, a variety of “over-the-air” attacks become possible, from eavesdropping on calls and texts to pushing spyware to the device.
“Interceptor use in the U.S. is much higher than people had anticipated,” Goldsmith says. “One of our customers took a road trip from Florida to North Carolina and he found 8 different interceptors on that trip. We even found one at South Point Casino in Las Vegas.”
Who is running these interceptors and what are they doing with the calls? Goldsmith says we can’t be sure, but he has his suspicions.
“What we find suspicious is that a lot of these interceptors are right on top of U.S. military bases. So we begin to wonder – are some of them U.S. government interceptors? Or are some of them Chinese interceptors?” says Goldsmith. “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.”
Ciphering Disabled Les Goldsmith
Interceptors vary widely in expense and sophistication – but in a nutshell, they are radio-equipped computers with software that can use arcane cellular network protocols and defeat the onboard encryption. Whether your phone uses Android or iOS, it also has a second operating system that runs on a part of the phone called a baseband processor. The baseband processor functions as a communications middleman between the phone’s main O.S. and the cell towers. And because chip manufacturers jealously guard details about the baseband O.S., it has been too challenging a target for garden-variety hackers.
“The baseband processor is one of the more difficult things to get into or even communicate with,” says Mathew Rowley, a senior security consultant at Matasano Security. “[That’s] because my computer doesn't speak 4G or GSM, and also all those protocols are encrypted. You have to buy special hardware to get in the air and pull down the waves and try to figure out what they mean. It's just pretty unrealistic for the general community.”
But for governments or other entities able to afford a price tag of “less than $100,000,” says Goldsmith, high-quality interceptors are quite realistic. Some interceptors are limited, only able to passively listen to either outgoing or incoming calls. But full-featured
The fact that these towers are found next to military bases speaks volumes.
The military needs to there own version of everything to make sure things work in times of national crisis, emergency, or security. They need to have their own infrastructure to insure communications. They need to control their communications around bases and know who is saying or doing what. They need to be able to anticipate attacks. Nobody should have any expectation of privacy on or next to a military base.
Quite frankly, I'm glad to see this.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
Interceptors look to a typical phone like an ordinary tower. Once the phone connects with the interceptor, a variety of “over-the-air” attacks become possible, from eavesdropping on calls and texts to pushing spyware to the device.... Interceptors vary widely in expense and sophistication – but in a nutshell, they are radio-equipped computers with software that can use arcane cellular network protocols and defeat the onboard encryption.
There are a number of positions in the military whose job is to put up or take down cell towers and any other telecommunications infrastructure at a moment's notice. They do it in warzones, on boats, on airplanes, at political rallies, during conventions and wargames. Is it so surprising that they keep permanent ones near or on their bases?
I would not be the slightest bit surprised to find half a dozen shady looking cell towers in a military base. Some soldiers shoot guns for a living, some fly drones, some pull cables, others do this.
A few news sites and tech sites have:
"Android security mystery 'fake' cellphone towers found in U.S." (28 AUG 2014)
http://www.welivesecurity.com/...
Fake, phone-attacking cell-towers are all across America (Sep 1, 2014)
http://boingboing.net/2014/09/...
"The fake "interceptor" towers force your phone to back \\down to an easy-to-break 2G connection, then goes to work"
"..the baseband firewall on the Cryptophone set off alerts showing that the phones encryption had been turned off, and that the cell tower had no name a telltale sign of a rogue base station."
Fake cell phone towers may be spying on Americans calls, texts (September 03, 2014)
http://rt.com/usa/184636-fake-...
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
The price has dropped to city, state and federal budget level for some of the tower like products.
The problem is more people now understand just how their low cost cell phone works as a gps becon, text, photo, calls list and voice, voice print collector.
The costs for voice systems like this in Ireland, South America where mil only historically. Now any regional, city, gov with funding can have a go at years of "warrantless surveillance".
The only issue is the upgrade to next gen costs and keeping details away from press with local FOIA like requests for city and state budgets.
Forcing 2g only signal use was the old news, now the next gen is ready for todays cell users in real time (beyond location tracking).
As 2g is removed in a few years, the new warrantless cell surveillance products are been made ready.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Is this article some kind of joke I don't quite get?
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Can I just say,
From the mouths of ANYONE who isn't an American.
STOP FUCKING GEO-REDIRECTING LINKS FOR FOREIGNERS YOU ASSHOLES.
Jesus christ fuck me gently it's the worst god damned thing to do on any web page, I think it might actually be worse than "this content is not available in your region" - because at least it takes us (mostly) to what we wanted.
http://www.popsci.com/article/...
takes me to
http://www.popsci.com.au/?src=...
Thanks dipshits.
this might be another secret plan of #US govt.
Small cell hardware can be offered some concealment as signs, trees, big cactus, wider flag poles, bell towers, thin onto brick walls or fake wood sidings, water towers, added rooftop enclosures, fake tinted glass, in a new chimney box, fake dormers, cupola.
It just depends on who is paying and what fits in with the surrounding area.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
The other question is then what where telco teams and gov teams doing when they scan for allocated spectrum issues? Own tower, competitor networks, new interfering hardware to be located and that local 'fake' mobile tower should kind of show up on normal regional cell maintenance work. What do telco staff do? Just let the 'fake' mobile devices work alongside their own expensive networks 24/7 over years? Thats their brands network thats been used by some fake device...
Are new staff instructed only to worry about hardware and consumer grade issues? Fake networks are to be left alone and not explored?
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Cell towers are usually owned or shared by telco firms, brands, providers that try to encrypt their users and are kind of easy to spot with hardware.
The "Phony" cell towers do not respond or act in the same way. They are fake but still fool a users phone into making a network connection.
Tame consumer grade hardware is fooled into seeing just another cell tower.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
...it's just another brick in the wall.
For some reason people aren't breaking out the hammers. It's as if they just don't care, or fail to understand the implications at least, of all this surveillance and monitoring.
And this is news....how? This is the same government which brought the TSA, and they are certainly useless.
so you mean to tell me that the telcos that spend millions, billions on spectrum licensing don't spot rogue basestations mooching on their frequency allocations ? Or were all of these in unlicensed spectrum ?
Nullius in verba
OMG! LOGIC!
zosxavius photography
Mysterious, Phony Cell Towers
Aren't all cell towers phone-y?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
... ha ha, still LOL about it!
The kids today need to learn the lessons we did when the operator could very obviously listen in to every call and would sometimes even break in and say something. The technology has changed but the capability is not just still there, it's easier. Never say anything on a phone that you would hate to see in a newspaper (or on a blog) - that most definitely includes credit card numbers.
Looks like Apple has built in detection from IOS 5 (though being Apple it might well have an off switch for legal intercept type applications):
http://9to5mac.com/2011/06/07/...
And it looks like some developers have gotten together to do something for Android with a project called Android IMSI-Catcher Detector (AIMSICD)
https://secupwn.github.io/Andr...
http://seclists.org/fulldisclo...
Has anyone tried this?
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
If this applies to CDMA technology as well.
Take one out of action. See who responds. It's not that hard.
Make sure your lawyer is on speeddial.
E
I know what you are talking about as I had to install one at a military base. Ours supported only US Government cell phones and unless your personal phone was able to see a carrier you would have no signal. This does require coordination with the carriers to make sure you don't interfere with them. These pico-cells are "smart" in that they communicated with the towers when it comes to hand-over, etc.
I was in the military and we could not operate all willy-nilly. A lot of our equipment, specifically radar, was way over-powered. However, the FCC rules only apply to the 12 mile limit (or whatever it may be now) of shore. The systems that we did use within that 12 mile limit had active FCC licensing. The one exception is that the operators, we did not have an FCC license. IIRC, in the commercial world we would have to have had them.
... and we can't find out who built the towers and who paid the freaking bill?
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
Cities like Chicago are installing cellphone tracking devices to monitor pedestrian traffic. http://readwrite.com/2014/09/0... http://articles.chicagotribune... There's one at the top of a light pole in front of the Board of Trade on Jackson St. It looks like a small, black, round trash can.