Communications of the ACM
Catching the Imsi-Catchers: Seaglass Brings Transparency to Cell Phone Surveillance
The SeaGlass system helps detect cellphone surveillance by modeling a citys cellular landscape and identifying suspicious anomalies.
Credit: University of Washington
Researchers at the University of Washington (UW) have developed the SeaGlass system to spot cellular network anomalies that may signal where and when International Mobile Subscriber Identity-catchers are being used to pinpoint mobile phones, monitor conversations, or send spam.
SeaGlass sensors built from commercially available components can be installed in vehicles, and they detect signals from existing cell tower networks, accumulating a baseline map of normal tower patterns.
Using algorithms and other techniques devised to spot network irregularities that can reveal a simulator's presence, the UW team built statistical models to locate anomalies.
SeaGlass sensors were deployed over two months in 15 ride-sharing vehicles in Milwaukee and Seattle to identify numerous anomalies consistent with patterns anticipated from cell-site simulators.
"We're eager to push this out into the community and find partners who can crowdsource more data collection and begin to connect the dots in meaningful ways," says UW researcher Ian Smith.
From UW Today
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Abstracts Copyright © 2017 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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