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Or do the same using Quick Settings.
In the status bar at the top you will then see the airplane icon which indicates airplane mode is active and you can still access the Internet via WiFi.
Can anything shield IMSI from IMSI catchers?
Murcielago thank you, so if I go to a protest with this setup and find a hotspot, stingrays would not see my SIM or IMSI numbers while I chat on Signal or Session?
K8y thank you, so if I go to a protest with this setup and find a hotspot, stingrays would not see my SIM or IMSI numbers while I chat on Signal or Session?
This is an interesting conversation, with a lot of history. To add, here are some links that may answer questions about IMSI catchers, etc. in general:
Plain language technical information about IMSI catchers: https://www.eff.org/wp/gotta-catch-em-all-understanding-how-imsi-catchers-exploit-cell-networks
If you're generally interested in protest security - this 'Surveillance Self Defense' guide is pretty good and has a section on attending a protest: https://ssd.eff.org/
It's not just IMSI catchers though... Device/Person correlation can be derived from: AGPS location privilege given to an app that sells this data (e.g. Google fulfilling geo-fence warrants) or connecting to your University's Library Wi-Fi (e.g. Pamona College, etc. recently)...
- The story of how IMSI catchers were brought to public knowledge is really interesting. It's been written about, etc. a number of times. One example (or just search Daniel Rigmaiden): https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/13/10758380/stingray-surveillance-device-daniel-rigmaiden-case
Hill_Sphere I've just read the article linked, and came across an interesting observation.
I'll quote the bit that i found interesting (Section 3.2.3)
Section 3.2.3: Why aren’t users alerted that encryption is off?
At this point, many people ask: why doesn’t their phone tell them something’s up? According to the GSM specifications, cell phone users are supposed to be notified when encryption is disabled, and in some markets they used to be. However, this caused a lot of confusion because:
People would travel with their phones to places where cell towers were configured very differently (e.g. in some countries cell network encryption is banned) and it would cause a “Warning: encryption disabled” pop-up to come up a lot.
Cell towers everywhere were misconfigured, also causing this pop-up to appear a lot.These issues led to many confused consumers and support calls to mobile carriers, resulting in the warning ultimately being disabled.
@GrapheneOS , apologies fot the tagging, but this made me wonder, is this warning implemented somewhere on carrier level, or on the phone itself?
If on the phone itself, wouldn't it be a nice addition, especially on GrapheneOS, to reimplement this 'feature' perhaps after a toggle, if seen as feasible in the first place?
Onlyfun thanks. Does the sim card work with grapheme pixels? It says it is for GL.iNet Devices though I don't see their line of phones...
And the portable router doesn't need to be plugged into a wall, but simply can be carried in your pocket (battery operated or rechargeable) so you can use with Graphene Pixels on airplane mode WiFi secure messaging to avoid getting on someone's radar?
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K8y look into https://www.gl-inet.com/campaign/mudi-with-vsim-technology/ but bear in mind this is a new offering so I'd wait some time and do a research before buying. Advantage is that this uses a esim/vsim so you can look into obtaining one more privately.
No router is "secure" OOTB you need to configure it to be.
K8y thanks. Does the sim card work with grapheme pixels? It says it is for GL.iNet Devices though I don't see their line of phones..
Yw. I have no idea, but they say: For use with other devices or mobile phones, APN setting(wbdata) may need to be manually configured. If you need assistance, our technical support team is available at support@gl-inet.com to guide you through the process.
so i would give it a try, $10 doesn't seem a lot even if it fails.
K8y And the portable router doesn't need to be plugged into a wall, but simply can be carried in your pocket (battery operated or rechargeable) so you can use with Graphene Pixels on airplane mode
no wall is required afaik. as mobile as your mobile phone.
K8y secure messaging to avoid getting on someone's radar?
still detectable. anonymity is necessary to maintain. messaging as well, not only secure.
r134a Is this warning implemented somewhere on carrier level, or on the phone itself?
If on the phone itself, wouldn't it be a nice addition, especially on GrapheneOS, to reimplement this 'feature' perhaps after a toggle, if seen as feasible in the first place?
You may be interested in this recent post about an EFF research project: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/20515-meet-rayhunter-a-new-open-source-tool-from-eff-to-detect-cellular-spying/
I suspect the price of this device will go up significantly soon.. I wonder what's the sim compatibility since it looks to be a Verizon specific device.
0xsigsev Yeah, just found out that it is a Verizon specific device, consequently i don't find availability anywhere in europe. Step 2 would have been finding out if it would be actually compatible with GSM in europe, and step 3 researching local laws, but since i can't find any availability in europe, i guess it ends here.
I wonder though, as in their article they aim to collect data outside of the us aswell, but currently only support that verizon specific orbic router, how they had this in mind? Perhaps there will be more devices supported as the project grows, with actual availability outside the us?
r134a I think the 'outside US' was an afterthought and they mainly focus on US.. Obviously I am not trying to shit on them on anything for that, just giving my opinion. I will most probably order one anyway and see if it is sim locked, or what's more important whether it works with the bandwidths here where I live..
I also am considering reaching out to EFF asking about the possibility to use other devices.