Some more articles if you would like to read more about the cell-site simulators:
https: / / theintercept(dot)com/surveillance-catalogue/stingray-iii/
Onion Link for The Intercept: https: / / 27m3p2uv7igmj6kvd4ql3cct5h3sdwrsajovkkndeufumzyfhlfev4qd(dot)onion /surveillance-catalogue/stingray-iii/
(Wikiless - an alternative front-end for wikipedia):
https : / / wikiless(dot)org/wiki/Stingray_phone_tracker
If I am not mistaken, aren’t dumbphones/flip phones/ feature phones vulnerable to stingray phone trackers?
If one is not encrypting their messages, then Law Enforcement Officers, nation-state actors and criminals can easily intercept SMS messages and phone calls.
Wikiless( an alternative front-end for Wikipedia):
https : / / wikiless(dot)org/wiki/Stingray_phone_tracker
Articles on Stingray phone tracker/imsi-catchers/ cell-site simulators:
https : / / www(dot)eff(dot)org/pages/cell-site-simulatorsimsi-catchers
https : / / theintercept(dot)com/surveillance-catalogue/stingray-iii/
Even more crazy(read the bolded statement, from The Intercept article):
Stingray I/II
Ground Based Geo-Location (Vehicular)
This dragnet surveillance workhorse has been deployed for years by numerous local law enforcement agencies across the United States. Don’t worry about the six-figure price tag: A federal grant will cover that. Upside: fierce name. Downsides: ensnares bystanders’ phones within up to 200 meters, drains phones’ batteries by forcing them to broadcast at full power for greater surveillance potential, and can block calls placed by nearby phones. But don’t worry too much: Ready-made non-disclosure agreements from the FBI and Harris Corp. will provide a pretext for concealing these features from the public. If you like the Stingray, you’ll love Harris Corp.’s next-generation Hailstorm, a must-have for cracking the 4G LTE network.
And if you don’t want your searches to be tracked by Google, Whoogle is an alternative front-end to access Google Search.
https : / / github (dot) com / kroy94 / whoogle-search
Description: Get Google search results, but without any ads, javascript, AMP links, cookies, or IP address tracking. Easily deployable in one click as a Docker app, and customizable with a single config file. Quick and simple to implement as a primary search engine replacement on both desktop and mobile.
You may notice some features are lacking in Whoogle that you would find in Google Search, but for some people it’s probably good enough. Whoogle Search includes Google News(as a tab) on the bottom of the search bar after you type in a query and press enter.
Searx is a privacy respecting metasearch engine. You can also search for news there.
Github: https : / / github (dot) com / searx / searx
Searx Instances: https : / / searx (dot) space
Searx Instances(onion link): http : / / searxspbitokayvkhzhsnljde7rqmn7rvoga6e4waeub3h7ug3nghoad(dot)onion/
Disclaimer: It is probably not a good idea to self-host Whoogle/Searx, since it is obvious the traffic to Google/some other non-privacy respecting search engine operator is from one person. But depending on your threat model maybe it can work.
There are Google Analytics trackers on The Intercept website, so here is an excerpt:
Source: https: / / theintercept(dot)com/surveillance-catalogue/stingray-iii/
“Ensnares bystanders, drains batteries, blocks calls”
Review by Nathan Wessler
Staff Attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project
This dragnet surveillance workhorse has been deployed for years by numerous local law enforcement agencies across the United States. Don’t worry about the six-figure price tag: A federal grant will cover that. Upside: fierce name. Downsides: ensnares bystanders’ phones within up to 200 meters, drains phones’ batteries by forcing them to broadcast at full power for greater surveillance potential, and can block calls placed by nearby phones. But don’t worry too much: Ready-made non-disclosure agreements from the FBI and Harris Corp. will provide a pretext for concealing these features from the public. If you like the Stingray, you’ll love Harris Corp.’s next-generation Hailstorm, a must-have for cracking the 4G LTE network.
Stingray I/II
Ground Based Geo-Location (Vehicular)
Capabilities
Limitations and Planning Factors
Vendor
Harris Corporation Melbourne, Florida-based Harris Corp. makes the most well-known cell-site simulator technology, the Stingray, used in cellphone surveillance by military intelligence and law enforcement. The company’s May 2015 acquisition of Virginia-based Exelis moved it toward domestic government business, according to industry experts. — Margot Williams, The Intercept
Protocols
900Mhz, 1800Mhz, 850Mhz and 1900Mhz and CDMA (multi-protocol and requires antenna)
Approval
Title 10
Cost: $134,952.00 USD