New Android App Can Detect Stingray Cell Phone Trackers

Stingray cell phone trackers, also known as IMSI catchers, are subject to a lot of debate. We’ve recently seen the story about US Marshals using these devices attached to planes, and that is far from the only place such devices are used for collecting data from people without their knowledge.

These trackers have been in use for about two decades and work by simulating to be a cell phone tower and trick mobile devices to connect to them that way. This might be a really convenient way for the law enforcement to monitor an area, but at the same time innocent people’s privacy is violated on a much bigger level.

There is no way to prevent this hijacking of your signal, but you can now detect those towers. That is if you have an Android phone that is using a Qualcomm chipset and is rooted. The new app that can detect these Stingray Cell Phone Trackers is called SnoopSnitch and it is free in the Google Play store.

“SnoopSnitch collects and analyzes mobile radio data to make you aware of your mobile network security and to warn you about threats like fake base stations (IMSI catchers), user tracking and over-the-air updates.” said German security researchers Alex Senier, Karsten Nohl, and Tobias Engel who created the app.

Images courtesy of Google Play Store