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CBS Reports 'Suspicious' Cell Phone Tower Activity In Washington DC (cbsnews.com)

"An unusually high amount of suspicious cell phone activity in the nation's capital has caught the attention of the Department of Homeland Security, raising concerns that U.S. officials are being monitored by a foreign entity," reports CBS News: The issue was first reported in the Washington Free Beacon, but a source at telecom security firm ESD America confirmed the spike in suspicious activity to CBS News. ESD America, hired preemptively for a DHS pilot program this January called ESD Overwatch, first noticed suspicious activity around cell phone towers in certain parts of the capital, including near the White House. This kind of activity can indicate that someone is monitoring specific individuals or their devices... According to the ESD America source, the first such spike of activity was in D.C. but there have been others in other parts of the country. Based on the type of technology used, the source continued, it is likely that the suspicious activity was being conducted by a foreign nation.
The news coincides with a letter sent to the DHS by two congressmen "deeply concerned" about vulnerabilities in the SS7 protocol underlying U.S. cellular networks, according to an article shared by Slashdot reader Trailrunner7. Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Ted Lieu are asking if the agency has enough resources to address the threat. "Although there have been a few news stories about this topic, we suspect that most Americans simply have no idea how easy it is for a relatively sophisticated adversary to track their movements, tap their calls, and hack their smartphones."

5 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. type of technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Based on the type of technology used, the source continued, it is likely that the suspicious activity was being conducted by a foreign nation."

    Is that because the US based three-letter-agencies just tap in at the service provider level?

  2. Relax... by Gordo_1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's just the President's Russian friends making sure he's safe from Obama's wiretaps.

    1. Re:Relax... by currently_awake · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's probably just the local police trying out their stingrays. You need to experiment a bit to learn how to intercept phone calls without a warrant.

  3. Re:Nope. Trump was wrong again. by davester666 · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, they don't. Microwave ovens have video cameras. Toasters are for wiretapping. Duh. You can even see the wires when you look inside the slots.

    --
    Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  4. Re:Holy shit Trump was right! by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Suspicious activity involving cellphone monitoring? Tell you what, start with the FBI, NSA, CIA, DHS, and local cops. On the remote chance that it isn't one of them, get back to me.