FutureWatch: Stingrays May Be Stung by Apple Cell Phone Patent

Apple has filed a patent application on a new method of encryption, which complicates obtaining of confidential information.

The patent describes a technology that will not allow any device to keep track of the IMSI (international mobile subscriber identifier)...

Innovation may interfere with the use of Stingray devices, which act as masts for mobile phones. These devices can track the location of users or even to listen to personal calls. They are also sometimes called IMSI catchers. more

Liechtenstein Protects Geneva Airport Against IMSI Catchers

Telecom Liechtenstein (FL1) announced a contract to protect Geneva Airport against electronic eavesdropping and disruptions to mobile networks.

FL1 Overwatch is a service specifically designed to protect companies or information-sensitive individuals. The system reports any detected attempts at espionage directly to the Mobile Security Alarm Centre in Liechtenstein, which triggers alerts and countermeasures.

Specifically, so-called IMSI catchers (fake mobile communication base stations) or jamming transmitters can be identified, located and analyzed before countermeasures are taken...

By using FL1 services, Geneva is the first airport to offer its visitors full integrity of mobile networks in critical areas and can therefore ensure enhanced protection of mobile communications as well as mobile devices used by passengers, employees and security personnel against electronic attacks. more

Stingrays in Washington DC Attacking Cell Phones – How they Work

A federal study found signs that surveillance devices for intercepting cellphone calls and texts were operating near the White House and other sensitive locations in the Washington area last year...

The discovery bolsters years of independent research suggesting that foreign intelligence agencies use sophisticated interception technology to spy on officials working within the hub of federal power in the nation’s capital. Experts in surveillance technology say that IMSI catchers — sometimes known by one popular brand name, StingRay — are a standard part of the tool kit for many foreign intelligence services, including for such geopolitical rivals as Russia and China...

 The devices work by simulating cell towers to trick nearby phones into connecting, allowing the IMSI catchers to collect calls, texts and data streams. Unlike some other forms of cellphone interception, IMSI catchers must be near targeted devices to work.

When they are in range, IMSI catchers also can deliver malicious software to targeted devices for the purpose of stealing information stored on them or conducting longer-term monitoring of communications. more
Smartphone Security Tips

EU: Spying Technology Export Control

EU lawmakers overwhelmingly backed plans on Thursday to control exports of devices to intercept mobile phone calls, hack computers or circumvent passwords that could be used by foreign states to suppress political opponents or activists...

The EU has felt that spyware or malware and telecom of Internet surveillance technologies are increasingly threatening security and human rights and proposed a modernization of its export control system to cover cyber-surveillance. more

Meanwhile, on Alibaba.

Researchers: 'Stingray' Detector Apps - Not 100% Effective

Academic researchers at Oxford University and the Technical University of Berlin found that several leading Android apps designed to detect when a phone connects to a fake cell site, known as a "stingray," can be easily bypassed, allowing the stingray owner to eavesdrop on calls, intercept messages, and track the precise location of a phone.

The researchers found that the top five stingray detection apps in the Google Play app store -- SnoopSnitch, Cell Spy Catcher, GSM Spy Finder, Darshak, and AIMSICD -- failed on at least one count to alert the phone owner when their device has connected to a fake cell site...

The paper was released Monday ahead of a presentation at the Usenix Woot conference in Vancouver, Canada. more