Mystery fake cell towers spotted slurping comms around Washington DC
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says it has detected strange fake cellphone towers – known as IMSI catchers – in America's capital.
These devices, which can masquerade as real phone masts to track people's movements and potentially eavesdrop on calls and texts, represent a real and growing security risk, the agency said.
And whoever is operating them in Washington DC is, we're told, a mystery to Uncle Sam's g-men. DHS official Christopher Krebs dropped this mild bombshell in a a March 26 letter sent to Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), a memo that was made public this week.