Meet Rayhunter: A New Open Source Tool from EFF to Detect Cellular Spying

Rayhunter is a new open source tool we’ve created that runs off an affordable mobile hotspot that we hope empowers everyone, regardless of technical skill, to help search out cell-site simulators (CSS) around the world.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

@evacide

Maybe it's just me, but the EFF website appears to be unusable with Safari (V 17.6 - I have an old Mac). Scrolling down from the banner headline is so broken as to be unusable.

Probably not your bailiwick, but figured I'd pass the issue along.

@evacide RayHunter uses inexpensive hardware and is not difficult to set up. $20 and a little following pretty well written directions, and you are ready to detect the “stingray” devices.
@WackyIdeas @evacide I couldn't find the FAQ. If I want to join (outside the US), do I need to get a SIM card for this? How much data would it use per month?
@evacide @catsalad
Has Rayhunter detected an actual Stingray-type device in the wild yet?

@FritzAdalis @evacide @catsalad that seems to be one of its purposes.

We have a few different goals with this project. An overarching goal is to determine conclusively if CSS are used to surveil free expression such as protests or religious gatherings, and if so, how often it’s occurring. We’d like to collect empirical data (through network traffic captures, i.e. PCAPs) about what exploits CSS are actually using in the wild so the community of cellular security researchers can build better defenses. We also hope to get a clearer picture of the extent of CSS usage outside of the U.S., especially in countries that do not have legally enshrined free speech protections.
Once we have gathered this data, we hope we can help folks more accurately engage in threat modeling about the risks of cell-site simulators, and avoid the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that comes from a lack of knowledge. We hope that any data we do find will be useful to those who are fighting through legal process or legislative policy to rein in CSS use where they live. 

@evacide not sure if I just missed it in the documentation, but do you need an active SIM card for this to work? I live Puerto Rico where Verizon doesn’t operate.
@georgeperez @evacide
Mine appears to work without an activated SIM (although it hasn't picked up a stingray yet, as I live in the middle of nowhere). The thin green bar at the top of the display indicates no simulator detected.
@georgeperez @evacide IIRC you do need a sim card but it doesn't have to actually be activated.
@evacide I was going to suggest to you this item would be a great swag idea :-)
@evacide Time to buy a PinePhone it seems. It is on the supported devices list. Though i will avoid the PinePhonePro as our demo unit for #SoCalSUSE has been problematic. Still this project will be neat.
@evacide oh yeah I'm definitely setting one of these up
@evacide I just put the order in for the hardware. It should be here tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting it up and running!
@evacide anyone a member of a hacker space? $3 a piece if you buy a lot of 50 https://www.ebay.com/itm/167635755918
LOT OF 50 Orbic Speed RC400L Verizon 4G LTE Mobile Broadband WiFi Hotspot Modem | eBay

LOT OF 50 VERIZON HOTSPOT ORBIT RC400L. THE LABEL MAY HAVE BEEN APPLIED AS PART OF AN INTERNAL DECOMMISSIONING PROCESS OR INVENTORY SYSTEM, BUT THE ITEM IS IN USED, WORKING CONDITION BASED ON WHERE AND HOW IT WAS REMOVED.

eBay