IMSI Catcher

Alright folks I know you are all heated up in this post. After reading the last post, you must be asking "hey wait a minute that is an old wiretapping technology". Well, I am completely aware of that and i did not explain it in the last blog because i don't want to put everything in one post. So there you go, this post is all about "Modern Wiretapping".

Recently, a presidential candidate in a particular country claimed that the current president had ordered a wiretap of his premises before his election. This suggests that the president is stuck is a cold-war time warp, with spies still using the kind of techniques found in old James bond movies rather than 21st-century surveillance. So what are the game changer that have replaced the old wiretapping method?

1) Modern wiretapping is done through getting via the phone service provider (in theory, something only the government can do)

2) If that method is unsuccessful, there are an intercepting device that is commonly called IMSI-catcher, a controversial cellular phone surveillance device. Initially developed for the military and intelligence community, now the usage of this device is widespread by local and state law enforcement agencies in a particukar country or even among individuals.

A laptop with an IMSI-Catcher device

3) So what is IMSI-Catcher?  

IMSI-Catcher can intercept your phones metadata remotely. Every phone have what its called an IMSI which is actually for the sim card which contains the subscriber (phone users) information such as your name, your phone number. All of our devices as they travel throughout the day are constantly broadcasting in some sort of radio orchestra. IMSI catcher acts as the legitimate cell phone tower. For instance, when you're saying hey cell-phone tower, can you hear me? instead a man in the middle, somebody with an IMSI-Catcher in their trunk of their car, in their briefcase in their office has it send a louder signal back to you than the cell phone tower then say "im the cellphone tower". 

The concept of an IMSI-Catcher

4) Recently the use of IMSI-Catcher are said to used by some law enforcement agencies to monitor and spying on the people. One of the way they use the IMSI-Catcher is by mounting the device on airplane and fly it around the city.

In my opinion this device is very crucial especially in an attempt to locate possible terrorists or to aim missiles. But it has gone from warfront to homefront where it involves the citizens and public. To me this is wrong and it is agains the rights as a human which need privacy in their life.