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Officials disclose potential cellphone surveillance activity near White House
The Hill ^ | 06/01/18 | Morgan Chalfant

Posted on 06/01/2018 8:41:44 AM PDT by yesthatjallen

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security detected potential surveillance activity near “sensitive facilities” in Washington, including the White House, according to a study conducted last year.

Officials disclosed the activity, associated with devices commonly known as “Stingrays,” in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), which was first reported by The Washington Post this week.

The revelation boosts long-held suspicions that foreign actors are using the technology to conduct spying in the nation’s capital.

Christopher Krebs, the acting head of the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), Homeland Security’s cybersecurity unit, explained in the May 22 letter that the department initiated a “limited pilot project” in the D.C. region last year to understand the activity of “Stingray” devices — formally known as International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catcher technology.

An IMSI is a unique identification number that is used to recognize any one mobile device on a cellular network. IMSI catcher technology mimics legitimate cellphone towers in order to intercept cellular communications, allowing for eavesdropping.

The tracking devices are often referred to as “stingrays” after the StingRay brand widely used by state and local police officers.

In the letter, Krebs acknowledged that Homeland Security observed “anomalous activity that appeared consistent with IMSI catcher technology within the [U.S. Capitol Region], including locations in proximity to potentially sensitive facilities like the White House” when conducting the analysis between January and November of last year.

However, the official noted that NPPD “has neither validated nor attributed such activity to specific entities, devices, or purposes.”

“It is my understanding that relevant law enforcement and counterintelligence agencies conducted further investigation and determined some detected signals were emanating from legitimate cell towers,” Krebs wrote.

Etc...

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; Russia; US: District of Columbia; US: Oregon
KEYWORDS: china; craigtimberg; districtofcolumbia; imsicatchers; oregon; ronwyden; russia; stingrays; trump; washingtoncompost; washingtonpost; whitehouse
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Foreign Actors is a euphemism for 'The Resistance'.
1 posted on 06/01/2018 8:41:44 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: yesthatjallen

Hmmmmm.....I wonder if it happens to be coming from 0bie/Jarrett’s home, just blocks away from WH?


2 posted on 06/01/2018 8:43:00 AM PDT by Jane Long (Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow.)
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To: yesthatjallen

Go to full Faraday mode....engage ludicrous drive.


3 posted on 06/01/2018 8:43:25 AM PDT by spokeshave2 (Formerly as spokeshave...now restarted after computer issues.)
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To: yesthatjallen

The Russians again.


4 posted on 06/01/2018 8:45:32 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: All

5 posted on 06/01/2018 8:47:09 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

It is not spying! Just foreign confidential human assets protecting President Trump.


6 posted on 06/01/2018 8:49:06 AM PDT by Kozy (new age haruspex; "Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth.")
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To: yesthatjallen

Probably some of Brennan and Clapper’s buddies.

I’ve wondered how secure the President’s phone lines and cell phone really are.


7 posted on 06/01/2018 8:51:58 AM PDT by laplata (Liberals/Progressives have diseased minds.)
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To: yesthatjallen

[yawn]....since when has there NOT been spying activity in Washington, DC?


8 posted on 06/01/2018 8:52:04 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: yesthatjallen
The revelation boosts long-held suspicions that foreign actors are using the technology to conduct spying in the nation’s capital.

Uh huh. Domestic "actors", more likely. We all know they've been trying to play their busted hand for months.

9 posted on 06/01/2018 8:54:05 AM PDT by jiggyboy (Ten percent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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Comment #10 Removed by Moderator

To: Jane Long

EXACTLY what I was thinking.


11 posted on 06/01/2018 8:57:55 AM PDT by NEMDF
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To: yesthatjallen

“Foreign actors” my ass.

Kalorama isn’t THAT far away.


12 posted on 06/01/2018 8:59:09 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (Have an A-1 day.)
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To: yesthatjallen

Come on, they can’t be expected to shut down these stingrays when they already have their hands full handing out parking tickets.


13 posted on 06/01/2018 9:00:48 AM PDT by Meet the New Boss
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To: 1Old Pro

Late 70’s the russkies were bouncing microwaves off fedgov office windows in DC.


14 posted on 06/01/2018 9:01:56 AM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: yesthatjallen

Obama still runs the spy ring
(from his fancy new home within walking distance of the White House)
and Valarie Jarrett helps him from there (which is why she’s reportedly moved in?)

enemies are enemies, they stay enemies (at least until defeated)


15 posted on 06/01/2018 9:07:51 AM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicans aren't born, they're excreted." -Marcus Tillius Cicero (3 BCE))
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To: Rebelbase
Late 70’s the russkies were bouncing microwaves off fedgov office windows in DC.

I suspect they were experimenting with something in Cuba a few years back too.

16 posted on 06/01/2018 9:16:35 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: 1Old Pro

Trump should have Soetero tell the Russians to “knock it off.”


17 posted on 06/01/2018 9:20:19 AM PDT by Tallguy
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To: yesthatjallen

It’s likely that “foreign actors” were hired to do this surveillance - we know they do that. Or maybe foreigners were allowed/encouraged to operate on the condition that any dirt they uncover is turned over to the proper “deep state actors”.

With Gowdy leaving, the deep state needs to get the dirt on whoever will be taking his place. And it never hurts to have a more compromising information on all representatives and SC justices. Before Trump, it was believable that congress and courts were compromised any time something unexpected happened (e.g. SC’s obamacare decision). With what we’ve learned now, it’s hard to believe certain court decisions and congressional actions/statements were not the result of information gathered from surveillance and used to apply pressure.

Obama’s people deny their “intent” in the Trump investigation. But nobody is denying that surveillance of political opponents is a “legitimate technique” and placing informants in an opponent’s organization is something they do. And unmasking/sharing/leaking that information is nothing to be worried about. And it’s guaranteed that they can find a foreign individual to get a FISA warrant that allows them to surveil any person they are interested in snooping on in DC. These are no longer hypothetical warnings from us paranoid Constitution-lovers since those doing it have admitted it.

They can’t ever again deny that there’s a possibility Robert’s SC decision or Gowdy’s statements were coerced. They may deny they did it, but they can’t deny the possibility that they have compromising information or that they’d use it (i.e. leak to the press). Obama has truly and permanently destroyed any chance of the public trusting the government (legislation, courts, investigations, etc).


18 posted on 06/01/2018 9:20:44 AM PDT by LostPassword
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To: yesthatjallen

I saw an interview with one expert on this, and he said that these fell into three broad groups - foreign agents, US agents, and private citizens, which included criminals seeking financial information, and private investigators looking for information about their cases, especially affairs and fraud.

He wanted some sort of encryption of voice and data transfers to protect us.


19 posted on 06/01/2018 9:21:31 AM PDT by VanShuyten ("...that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable animals.")
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To: yesthatjallen

Demand the cone of silence!
20 posted on 06/01/2018 9:25:00 AM PDT by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything it's that history rarely teaches us anything.)
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