Rayhunter: A Cheap New Tool from EFF to Detect Cellular Spying (androidauthority.com)
(Saturday March 08, 2025 @11:34AM (EditorDavid)
from the who-watches-the-watchmen dept.)
- Reference: 0176647823
- News link: https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/25/03/08/0346250/rayhunter-a-cheap-new-tool-from-eff-to-detect-cellular-spying
- Source link: https://www.androidauthority.com/eff-rayhunter-3532579/
[1]Equuleus42 (Slashdot reader #723) brings word that the [2]Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is sharing a [3]new tool for fighting back against cellphone surveillance by Stingray cell-site simulators.
[4] Android Authority reports :
> "Rayhunter" uses an open-source software package designed to look for evidence of IMSI catchers in action, running on an old Orbic Speed RC400L mobile hotspot. The great thing about that choice is that you can pick one up for practically nothing — we're seeing them listed for [5]barely over $10 on Amazon , and you can find them even cheaper on eBay. There's an installation script for Macs and Linux to automate getting set up, but once the Orbic is flashed with the Rayhunter software, it should be ready go, collecting data about sketchy-looking "cell towers" it picks up.
>
> Right now, much of the use of IMSI catchers is still shrouded in mystery, with the groups who regularly employ them extremely hesitant to disclose their methods. As a result, a big focus of this EFF project is just getting more info on how and where these are actually used, giving protestors a better sense of the steps they'll need to take if they want to protect their privacy.
[1] https://www.slashdot.org/~Equuleus42
[2] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying
[3] https://github.com/EFForg/rayhunter
[4] https://www.androidauthority.com/eff-rayhunter-3532579/
[5] https://amzn.to/3Dpnvze
[4] Android Authority reports :
> "Rayhunter" uses an open-source software package designed to look for evidence of IMSI catchers in action, running on an old Orbic Speed RC400L mobile hotspot. The great thing about that choice is that you can pick one up for practically nothing — we're seeing them listed for [5]barely over $10 on Amazon , and you can find them even cheaper on eBay. There's an installation script for Macs and Linux to automate getting set up, but once the Orbic is flashed with the Rayhunter software, it should be ready go, collecting data about sketchy-looking "cell towers" it picks up.
>
> Right now, much of the use of IMSI catchers is still shrouded in mystery, with the groups who regularly employ them extremely hesitant to disclose their methods. As a result, a big focus of this EFF project is just getting more info on how and where these are actually used, giving protestors a better sense of the steps they'll need to take if they want to protect their privacy.
[1] https://www.slashdot.org/~Equuleus42
[2] https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying
[3] https://github.com/EFForg/rayhunter
[4] https://www.androidauthority.com/eff-rayhunter-3532579/
[5] https://amzn.to/3Dpnvze
Pricing is off (Score:2)
by aitikin ( 909209 )
I like how it's saying just over $10 and when I go to the link, it's $25.95 (at least at the time of this writing). Wonder how quickly it'll climb.
How long before.. (Score:2)
..this is made illegal to have? Either a stand-alone device or the software version of the device could be outlawed. Wouldn't surprise me if that happened.