Senators Demand Cell Surveillance Info

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UPDATE A bipartisan group of Senators is urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to publicly release more information about cell surveillance devices detected in the nation’s capital area.

So-called International Mobile Subscriber Identity-catchers, or IMSI-catchers — work by tricking cell phones into locking onto the device instead of a legitimate cell tower. Once they are deployed, they collect metadata and potentially communication data from calls and texts, by forcing phones to downgrade to a 2G network to make the interception easier. Phones using 3G or 4G networks can authenticate towers, Inside Towers reported.

“The American people have a legitimate interest in understanding the extent to which U.S. telephone networks are vulnerable to surveillance and are being actively exploited by hostile actors,” wrote Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Ed Markey (D-MA) in a letter to DHS official Christopher Krebs. DHS recently confirmed the use of the devices in the D.C. metro, but the lawmakers are pushing for a briefing on the matter made for federal employees, to be made public. Specifically, they want to know how many and what types of devices DHS found and who used them, reports The Hill.

The lawmakers’ interest mirrors that of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. If the reports are true, she said at this week’s meeting, “someone needs to explain how foreign actors are transmitting over our airwaves without approval from this agency. The security of our communications is at stake right here, right now in Washington and this agency owes the public more than silence.”

Wyden has been urging the FCC to do more to hold carriers accountable for securing their networks against security threats. The agency took a step in that direction on Tuesday when it opened a proceeding to bar carriers that use equipment or technology from companies determined to be a national security threat from receiving Universal Service Funds, Inside Towers reported.

April 20, 2018         

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