US suspects cellphone spying devices in DC

For the first time, the US government has publicly acknowledged the existence in Washington (DC) of what appear to be rogue devices that foreign spies and criminals could be using to track individual cellphones and intercept calls and messages.  The use of what are known as cellphone-site simulators by foreign powers has long been a concern, but American intelligence and law enforcement agencies — which use such eavesdropping equipment themselves — have been silent on the issue until now.

In a March 26 letter to Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that in 2017 it identified suspected unauthorized cell-site simulators in the nation’s capital. The agency said it had not determined the type of devices in use or who might have been operating them. Nor did it say how many it detected or where. The agency’s response suggests little has been done about such equipment, known popularly as Stingrays after a brand common among US police departments. The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the nation’s airwaves, formed a task force on the subject four years ago, but it never produced a report and no longer meets regularly.