Intercept: US law enforcement agencies have access to 53 tracking devices that were previously available only to military and government intelligence services.
The list of 53 devices was leaked by the Intercept, the websiteσελίδα which is responsible for publishing all his revelations Edward Snowden for the NSA.
According to the report, reporters gained the list from a source inside who worried about the militarization of US law enforcement agencies.
The list enumerates 53 tracking devices, along with their values ranging from 5.500 to 1.500.000 dollars. Some devices do not have a listed value, but they do not seem to be too cheap, since they are specifically designed to be mounted on UAVs (unmanned vehicles or drones).
Since most devices are manufactured under the supervision of the NSA or the CIA, they have very "exotic" code names such as: Cyberhawk, Spartacus, Kingfish, Buckshot, Artemis, RadioEye, Typhoon, Windjammer, Nebula, or Raven.
Most of the devices are IMSI (a.k.a. Stingrays or the suitcase we hear on the news that the secret services use), but the list also lists more complex ones tools, almost all of which are designed to target cellular phone networks.
With base their price, the equipment can track more or fewer phones at once, may or may not detect geographic location, or may operate over a wider geographic area.
Some of the devices can be transported by hand, while others are only moved by vehicles. This type of devices are usually more expensive but with more possibilities surveillance.
The devices have the ability to “trick” phones by connecting them to fake GSM networks, steal messages SMS and contact lists, listen to conversations, download media files, recover deleted texts, and more.
The Intercept reporters, the electronic frontier foundation, και η Αμερικανική Ένωση Πολιτικών Ελευθεριών (American Civil Liberties Union) claim that a third of the devices listed have never been seen in public before.
The list can find yourself here, but also in a special website created by Intercept.