Cellphone surveillance

Stingray devices StingRay devices are a technology that mimics a cellphone tower, causing nearby cellphones to connect and pass data through them instead of legitimate towers. This process is invisible to the end-user and allows the device operator full access to any communicated data. This technology is a form of man-in-the-middle attack. StingRays are used by law enforcement agencies to track people's movements, and intercept and record conversations, names, phone numbers and text messages from mobile phones. Law enforcement agencies in Northern California that have purchased StingRay devices include the Oakland Police Department, San Francisco Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, San Jose Police Department and Fremont Police Department. Dirtbox (DRT box) Dirtbox is a technology similar to Stingrays that are usually mounted on aerial vehicles that can mimic cell sites and also jam signals. The device uses an IMSI-catcher and is claimed to be able to bypass cryptographic encryption by getting IMSI numbers and ESNs (electronic serial numbers). Tower dumps A tower dump is the sharing of identifying information by a cell tower operator, which can be used to identify where a given individual was at a certain time. ==Targeted surveillance==

Software vulnerabilities Cellphone bugs can be created by disabling the ringing feature on a mobile phone, allowing a caller to call a phone to access its microphone and listening. One example of this was the group FaceTime bug. This bug enables people to eavesdrop on conversations without calls being answered by the recipient. In the United States, the FBI has used "roving bugs", which entails the activation of microphones on mobile phones to the monitoring of conversations. Cellphone spying software Cellphone spying software is a type of cellphone bugging, tracking, and monitoring software that is surreptitiously installed on mobile phones. This software can enable conversations to be heard and recorded from phones upon which it is installed. Cellphone spying software can be downloaded onto cellphones. Cellphone spying software enables the monitoring or stalking of a target cellphone from a remote location with some of the following techniques: • Allowing remote observation of the target cellphone position in real-time on a map • Remotely enabling microphones to capture and forward conversations. Microphones can be activated during a call or when the phone is on standby for capturing conversations near the cellphone. • Receiving remote alerts and/or text messages each time somebody dials a number on the cellphone • Remotely reading text messages and call logs Cellphone spying software can enable microphones on mobile phones when phones are not being used, and can be installed by mobile providers. In the United States, the government pays phone companies directly to record and collect cellular communications from specified individuals. ==Occurrences==

In 2005, the prime minister of Greece was advised that his, over 100 dignitaries', and the mayor of Athens' mobile phones were bugged. Security holes within Signalling System No. 7 (SS7), called Common Channel Signalling System 7 (CCSS7) in the US and Common Channel Interoffice Signaling 7 (CCIS7) in the UK, were demonstrated at Chaos Communication Congress, Hamburg in 2014. During the coronavirus pandemic Israel authorized its internal security service, Shin Bet, to use its access to historic cellphone metadata to engage in location tracking of COVID-19 carriers. ==Detection==

Some indications of possible cellphone surveillance occurring may include a mobile phone waking up unexpectedly, using a lot of battery power when on idle or when not in use, hearing clicking or beeping sounds when conversations are occurring and the circuit board of the phone being warm despite the phone not being used. However, sophisticated surveillance methods can be completely invisible to the user and may be able to evade detection techniques currently employed by security researchers and ecosystem providers. ==Prevention==

Preventive measures against cellphone surveillance include not losing or allowing strangers to use a mobile phone and the utilization of an access password. ==See also==