Peter
2021-07-25 03:59:15 UTC
The FBI Is Locating Cars By Spying On Their WiFi
This appears to be the first case on record of this happening.
For this warrant, the FBI first used a pen register, which gets data from a
cellphone provider to monitor connections made by a device to other phones
or electronic devices.
The FBI then used a "ping warrant," which shows the locations of cell towers
used by a device.
The FBI further used a third method called Stingray which masquerades as a
cell tower in order to force all devices in a given area to connect into it.
Agents then picked the number they were interested in to locate the device.
Normally that would be a mobile phone, but a search warrant application
discovered by Forbes shows this third method can also be used to find
vehicles, as long as they have onboard Wi-Fi.
That's because car Wi-Fi systems act like a phone, in that they reach out to
mobile networks to get their data.
The FBI decided to use the cell-site simulator noting that cars like the
Dodge were "frequently equipped with cellular modems inside their vehicles.
These cellular modems are assigned a unique cellular identifier and generate
historical and prospective records similar to a traditional cellular phone."
The case highlights how cars are no longer just vehicles, but networks on
wheels, and all that data can be useful to government agencies.
Police can and have acquired location data from a car's airbag system or
brake light module. They've also previously requested location data from
companies that have in-car systems that track millions of vehicles' GPS
coordinates every day, including GM OnStar, and fleet management providers
Geotab and Spireon.
The FBI Is Locating Cars By Spying On Their WiFi
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2021/07/22/the-fbi-is-using-stingray-smartphone-surveillance-to-locate-cars-and-spy-on-their-wifi/
This appears to be the first case on record of this happening.
For this warrant, the FBI first used a pen register, which gets data from a
cellphone provider to monitor connections made by a device to other phones
or electronic devices.
The FBI then used a "ping warrant," which shows the locations of cell towers
used by a device.
The FBI further used a third method called Stingray which masquerades as a
cell tower in order to force all devices in a given area to connect into it.
Agents then picked the number they were interested in to locate the device.
Normally that would be a mobile phone, but a search warrant application
discovered by Forbes shows this third method can also be used to find
vehicles, as long as they have onboard Wi-Fi.
That's because car Wi-Fi systems act like a phone, in that they reach out to
mobile networks to get their data.
The FBI decided to use the cell-site simulator noting that cars like the
Dodge were "frequently equipped with cellular modems inside their vehicles.
These cellular modems are assigned a unique cellular identifier and generate
historical and prospective records similar to a traditional cellular phone."
The case highlights how cars are no longer just vehicles, but networks on
wheels, and all that data can be useful to government agencies.
Police can and have acquired location data from a car's airbag system or
brake light module. They've also previously requested location data from
companies that have in-car systems that track millions of vehicles' GPS
coordinates every day, including GM OnStar, and fleet management providers
Geotab and Spireon.
The FBI Is Locating Cars By Spying On Their WiFi
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2021/07/22/the-fbi-is-using-stingray-smartphone-surveillance-to-locate-cars-and-spy-on-their-wifi/