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What is IMSI catchers technology?
An IMSI Catcher is an intrusive piece of technology that can be used to locate and track all mobile phones that are switched on in a certain area. IMSI Catchers are indiscriminate surveillance tools that could be used to track who attends a political demonstration or a public event like a football match.
What is passive IMSI catcher?
The passive IMSI catcher works by capturing IMSI numbers when a phone initializes a connection to a base station. In an effort to protect privacy, all subsequent communication to that base station is done with a random Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) number.
Are IMSI catchers legal?
Legal use of an IMSI catcher authorized by a warrant provides legitimate law enforcement capabilities. But without this explicit consent, consumers should have the right to opt-in to the collection of their information.
What are the different types of IMSI catcher detection?
Available IMSI catcher detection solutions today can be roughly divided into two categories: consumer-level and military-grade solutions. The software solutions offered to users online are, as mentioned above, only partially effective in protecting users and their devices.
Why are mobile security companies concerned about IMSI catchers?
If you are within the range of an IMSI-catcher and your phone is on, you can do nothing to prevent it from connecting to the fake tower. This is why mobile security companies such as us focus on concealing the content of communications. Encryption makes data incomprehensible to third parties that do not have the key necessary to decipher it.
Is there an Android app to detect IMSI catchers?
Android IMSI Catcher Detector (AIMSICD) As the name suggests, AIMSICD is an open-source-based Android app to detect and avoid IMSI Catchers or other base-stations (mobile antennas) with poor or no encryption.
How are Stingrays able to intercept IMSI data?
If your communications are encrypted via strong contemporary encryption algorithms – such as the ones used by the apps in our encrypted communications suite, Secure Pack – no eavesdropper would be able to decipher them. But encryption is just the first line of defense. As we explained, Stingrays intercept the IMSIs of devices.