Can Stingray Intercept Signal Conversations?

Subliminal

Is Signal impervious to Stingray technology that mimics cell towers?

Blastoidea

Intercept or understand?

My guess is intercept yes, understand no.

Subliminal

Blastoidea ok so it would know that there is a call being made but it would be encrypted so undecipherable? Would it be able to detect what phone is being used? What about if it was in airplane mode and wifi is on? Would it even be able to be intercepted at that point?

Blastoidea

Subliminal
I don’t see how a device which pretends to be a cell tower could intercept WiFi.

Maybe I don’t understand the question.

MoonshineMidnight

Subliminal A Stingray is designed to intercept cellular communications. Not internet data communications. Signal is e2e talk/text. A Stingray could not even intercept an unencrypted VOIP call/text as it is not a cell call but rather an internet data call/text

If you are at home using WiFi with no VPN, your ISP can see you are using and encrypted tunnel, and with deep packet inspection (which they generally don't do) ID it as a Signal e2e message, but otherwise they have no idea what is being communicated and by whom as it is encrypted e2e, so they can't even pick it up on the their DNS resolver to the internet.

Now, you can always tunnel Signal e2e through a VPN, but then with DPI your ISP can tell you are using a VPN. VPNs are much more common if that makes you feel better. Either way, your communications are secure with Signal or a solid VPN.

MoonshineMidnight

MoonshineMidnight And to correct detail in my above post, a new type of Stingray called Hailstorm can intercept data over 4g/5g when you use data over your cellular network that way. So unencrypted VOIP is not secure with Hailstorm, but Signal is still securely encrypted.

MoonshineMidnight

MoonshineMidnight My post stated the newer Stingray - Hailstorm - can intercept data. I stated Signal was fine with Hailstorm as it is e2e. Have you seen all my Signal posts? I know very well how Signal works.

You refute Hailstorm can intercept data. You state it cannot do so.

"Hailstorm technology extracts cellular data and intercepts calls and texts by masquerading as cell towers".

"The police can then monitor your calls and wireless activity without you ever knowing you were being watched or that all of your information was secretly collected."

Good on you for the misinformation thumbs up you received.

https://www.aclumich.org/en/news/they-dont-want-you-know-shedding-light-surveillance-michigan

Subliminal

MoonshineMidnight Thanks for the info. That answers my question

[deleted]

MoonshineMidnight I assume a VPN would keep you covered? Yes it would still intercept it, but it should be unreadable?

Blastoidea

If you are asking if folks with stingray or equivalent can read your texts, or listen to your Signal phone calls, I believe the answer is no.
Can they be intercepted? Yes.
Any ordinary radio transmission can be intercepted.

MoonshineMidnight

[deleted] A solid VPN set to "always on" and "block connection without VPN" in settings will do just that.

I would suggest one of these three, but there are a few other solid ones out there.

https://www.privacyguides.org/en/vpn/

ve3jlg

MoonshineMidnight "The police can then monitor your calls and wireless activity without you ever knowing you were being watched or that all of your information was secretly collected."

Your linked article is from 2014. That was almost 10 years ago.

The cellular network has changed since 2G/3G days. That cellular tech has or is being phased out.

Your implications and statements are incorrect.

Blastoidea

Let's define our terms.

To intercept does not include the ability to decode, decrypt, or otherwise understand or extract meaning from the intercepted transmission.

Technical terms have precice definitions and usages, otherwise communication is impossible.

MoonshineMidnight

Blastoidea It is easy to intercept metadata from regular encrypted VOIP calls that are not e2e like Signal. For instance, the origin IP and destination IP are easily remotely tracked for regular VOIP to regular VOIP. Regular VOIP to a regular cellular number leaves even more metadata.

As Snowden said, it's not what you say on a call or text, it is the metadata that can be more revealing and what gets you. I stated Hailstorm can extract data as a VOIP call crosses the simulated Hailstorm cell tower over 4g/5g. Metadata is data.

Blastoidea

Sounds like another good reason to use Signal.

MoonshineMidnight

ve3jlg Don't think Stingrays and Hailstorm have better tech?