Simply knowing they exist isn’t helpful – a proper defence against governments or balaclava wearing hackers requires some sort of detection system. No matter where the threat comes from, rogue cell towers still exist. While there was most certinaly several of these devices at DEF CON, I only saw one in a hotel room (you catchin’ what I’m throwin here?).
The EFF calls them cell-site simulators, and they’re an incredible violation of privacy. These rogue cell sites have various capabilities, from being able to track an individual phone, gather metadata about who you have been calling and for how long, to much more invasive surveillance such as intercepting SMS messages and what websites you’re visiting on your phone. You should be scared, even though police departments everywhere and every government agency already has this capability. In less than a year, evil, bad hackers could be tapping into your cell phone or reading your text message from the comfort of a van parked across the street. From what we saw at HOPE in New York a few weeks ago, we’re just months away from being able to put a femtocell in a desktop computer for under $3,000. The balaclava-wearing hackers know it, too. Software defined radios are getting better and better all the time.
