When used to track a suspect’s cell phone, they also gather information about the phones of countless bystanders who happen to be nearby. EFF has been investigating the use of cell-site simulators against Water Protectors and their allies at the Dakota Access Pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Some devices have a range of “several kilometers,” meaning potentially thousands of people could have their privacy violated despite not being suspected of any crime. That's far more than any other tower they tested—96 percent of their data showed towers transmitting on just one channel—and represents a telltale sign of a stingray. LEARN MORE ABOUT US, AND HOW YOU CAN HELP. Cell-site simulators also have passive capabilities, such as identifying legitimate cell sites and mapping out their coverage areas. Cellular devices are designed to connect to the cell site nearby with the strongest signal. Examples of "How To Tell" if your cell phone is picking up a fake Stingray cell phone tower. Your Secret Stingray's No Secret Anymore: The Vanishing Government Monopoly over Cell Phone Surveillance and Its Impact on National Security and Consumer Privacy, Examining Law Enforcement Use of Cell Phone Tracking Devices, The Relentless “Eye” Local Surveillance: Its Impact on Human Rights and Its Relationship to National and International Surveillance, Department of Justice Policy Guidance: Use of Cell-Site Simulator Technology, Long-Secret Stingray Manuals Detail How Police Can Spy on Phones, A Secret Catalogue of Government Gear for Spying on Your Cellphone, San Francisco Supervisors Must Rein In SFPD’s Abuse of Surveillance Cameras, EFF to Court: Trump Appointee’s Removal of Open Technology Fund Leadership Is Unlawful, EFF Launches Searchable Database of Police Agencies and the Tech Tools They Use to Spy on Communities, Schools Are Pushing the Boundaries of Surveillance Technologies, Learn more at EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense guide for students, About Face: Ending Government Use of Face Surveillance, FTC Takes Action Against Stalkerware Company Retina-X, Private Companies, Government Surveillance Software and Human Rights, Americans Deserve Their Day in Court About NSA Mass Surveillance Programs, Victory: Oakland City Council Votes to Ban Government Use of Face Surveillance, Surveillance and Community Safety Ordinance, Victory: Somerville, Massachusetts Stands Up to Stop Face Surveillance. The user then is able to extract data, location information and communication from the cellphone. The Stingray earned a great deal of negative attention when animal promoter and enthusiast Steve Irwin was stung by one and died. Stingray devices – when used properly – mimic a cell tower and force all phones in range to link to them. Digital Receiver Technology, a division of Boeing, is also a common supplier of the technology, often referred to as “dirtboxes.”Â. They In light of this secrecy, the FBI told police officers to recreate evidence from the devices, according to a document obtained by the nonprofit investigative journalism outlet Oklahoma Watch.Â. Generally, there are two types of device used by law enforcement that are often referred to interchangeably: passive devices (which we will call IMSI catchers), and active devices (which we will call cell-site simulators.) Baltimore Police, for example, have used their devices for a wide variety of purposes, ranging from tracking a kidnapper to trying to locate a man who took his wife’s phone during an argument (and later returned it to her). They can read your text messages, see where you are and more. Apps for identifying the use of cell-site simulators, such as SnoopSnitch, may not be verifiably accurate. What is more, a Stingray device cannot be individually targeted to pick up only select smartphones. Some cell-site simulators may have advanced features allowing law enforcement to intercept communications or even alter the content of communications. They're used by police, federal officials and hackers. It is difficult for most people to know whether or not their phone’s signals have been accessed by an active cell-site simulator, and it is impossible for anyone to know if their phone’s signals have been accessed by a passive IMSI catcher. The city council of Somerville, Massachusetts voted unanimously last week to become the first city on the East Coast to ban government face surveillance. We are in the process of collecting these policies. The Stingray deceives cell phones by imitating a cell tower. Stingray devices are categorized as cell-site simulators by the Federal Government. (The government then admitted to having used it. The range of Harris Corporation’s Stingray, according to manuals previously leaked by the Intercept, is approximately 200 meters. U.S. Marshalls have driven files hundreds of miles to thwart public records requests. Active cell-site simulators work very differently from their passive cousins. Just this week WhatsApp sued... EFF continues our fight to have the U.S. courts protect you from mass government surveillance. [ACLU v. CBP] Documents Released Under Lawsuit, ACLU v. CBP - Documents Released Under Lawsuit, We Need You With Us — help defend our civil liberties. Salangid Active Fuel Management Disable Device RA003 fit for GM V8 V6 engine. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for C7 CORVETTE STINGRAY/Z06 RANGE AFM DISABLER DEVICE at Amazon.com. Law enforcement agencies all over the country possess Stingrays, though their use is often shrouded in secrecy. Stingrays, also known as “cell site simulators” or “IMSI catchers,” are invasive cell phone surveillance devices that mimic cell phone towers and send out signals to trick cell phones in the area into transmitting their locations and identifying information. Some more advanced tools have been built, which may be more accurate. In recent years, legal scholars, public interest advocates, legislators and several members of the judiciary have strongly criticized the use of this technology by law enforcement agencies. Recently, Amnesty International reported finding that two prominent Moroccan human rights defenders had been targeted using Israeli-based NSO Group’s software. Called White-Stingray, the system uses only a PC and a software-defined radio, which allows it to receive and transmit a wide and highly adaptable range of radio frequencies. Prosecutors have accepted plea deals to hide their use of cell-site simulators and have even dropped cases rather than revealing information about their use of the technology. For the purposes of this article we will primarily discuss active cell-site simulators. The good news is that you can disable the Wi-Fi calling feature on your device, but Wi-Fi auto connect can only be disabled when such a network is in range. Harris Corporation is the most prevalent company providing cell-site simulators to law enforcement.  Additionally, marketing materials produced by the manufacturers of cell-site simulators indicate that they can be configured to divert calls and text messages, edit messages, and even spoof the identity of a caller in text messages and calls. This is a paper that I wrote for my Wireless Networking class in Spring 2020. Passive devices, as a rule, do not transmit any signals. In Baltimore, a judge concluded that law enforcement had intentionally withheld the information from the defense, in violation of their legal disclosure obligations. 741, which requires transparency measures regarding the use of cell-site simulators. Edmonton police are backtracking after admitting to using a StingRay, a controversial surveillance device that can indiscriminately eavesdrop on any cellphone within its range. (ACLU), Your Secret Stingray's No Secret Anymore: The Vanishing Government Monopoly over Cell Phone Surveillance and Its Impact on National Security and Consumer Privacy (Harvard Journal of Law and Technology), Examining Law Enforcement Use of Cell Phone Tracking Devices (House Oversight Committee)Â, The Relentless “Eye” Local Surveillance: Its Impact on Human Rights and Its Relationship to National and International Surveillance (Center for Media Justice and others), Department of Justice Policy Guidance: Use of Cell-Site Simulator Technology (U.S. Department of Justice), Long-Secret Stingray Manuals Detail How Police Can Spy on Phones  (The Intercept), A Secret Catalogue of Government Gear for Spying on Your Cellphone (The Intercept). Manufacturers Septier and Gamma GSM both provide information on what the devices can capture. Cell-site simulators, also known as Stingrays or IMSI catchers, are devices that masquerade as legitimate cell-phone towers, tricking phones within a certain radius into connecting to the device rather than a tower.Â. Few of the device’s capabilities are acknowledged by law enforcement, but how it works is fairly well-known: As long as a cellphone is emitting a signal to a cell tower, a Stingray can find it. Police have tried to keep information secret in Sarasota, Florida, Tacoma, Washington, Baltimore, Maryland, and St. Louis, Missouri. The stingray can definitely provide accurate location data for its targets. EFF supported S.B. Federal law enforcement agencies typically get courts to approve use of something like stingray through a pen register application [a pen register is a device … Help ACLU take on assaults to our civil liberties at a moment's notice! Just this week WhatsApp sued... EFF continues our fight to have the technology, often to... 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