These Cellular Tower, innocuous, part of that gray tech background scenery of our lives. Little did you know…
If your smartphone ever drops from 4G to 2G, you may be getting hacked, according to Les Goldsmith, CEO of ESD America. Goldsmith recently discovered 17 illegitimate cellular towers, called interceptors, across the United States that allow an unknown party to eavesdrop on your calls, texts and even pushing spyware into your devices. Phase One has been initiated. Watch the skies.
ESD America is one of the leading organizations in American law enforcement and defense technology. ESD clients are the type that have Top Secret information and need to keep it safe. For this reason, ESD created the CryptoPhone 500, a cell phone based on the Samsung Galaxy S III with a highly-advanced encryption to keep user information safe from hackers. It was this very device that uncovered the location of 17 fake towers, or interceptors throughout the country.
Interceptors look identical to cell phone towers, but the structures serve a very different purpose. They are in place to capture the data from passerby mobile phone users, on the low. Thanks to the CryptoPhone 500, ESD doesn’t just know that interceptors exist, they have mapped their location throughout the country.
Map of Interceptors throughout the U.S. (image courtesy of Popular Science)
Goldsmith said he was shocked by the amount of interceptors in the U.S. and the number may be growing. Seventeen has been uncovered so far but their location can only be uncovered if one is within range of the fake tower, so more discoveries may be on the way. To date, the towers seem to be concentrated near large cities and military bases. The most unnerving fact, however, is that the owner of the towers remains unknown.
Goldsmith said the interceptors are most suspicious because of their positioning throughout the country. Since they are mostly located near military bases, the owner of the fake towers would have to be someone who wanted to eavesdrop of calls that take place at military bases, but who would that be? Goldsmith said at this point that answer remains unknown, but bets are on the U.S. or Chinese government. The NSA can hack any tower that it wants (it’s like the honey badger. It just takes what it wants), so the perpetrator is at least less tech-savvy than Big Brother.
(via Cryptophone)
ESD warns people to beware if their cellular network drops from 4G to 2G. 2G networks are less secure than 4G and clients reported that their phones dropped down to this network before an attempted interception. The CryptoPhone 500 was able to block the attempt and notify clients of the threat, but other cellular users may not be so lucky.
ESD recommends opting for the CryptoPhone 500 if you are at high risk of being intercepted and a person of interest. Sure, we aren’t all government agents, but even a scientist with a discovery that could be of interest to the U.S. government may want to consider the added protection. We don’t need a real-life Resident Evil to close out the year.
There’s no word on if and when the owners of the interceptors will be uncovered and announced. News Republic has a theory that the fake towers belong to police departments throughout the country, as some departments throughout the country are already using towers to monitor mobile activity. Watch those memes guys. Grumpy Cat might just get you busted.
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