The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has acknowledged for the first time that unauthorized spying devices are being used in Washington, DC.
According to a letter obtained by The Hill, the department admitted that foreign actors or criminals are using eavesdropping devices to track cellphone activity in Washington.
The letter DHS wrote to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) last Monday shows that they came across unauthorized cell-site simulators in the area last year.
The devices known as “stingrays” can track a user’s location data using their mobile phones and can intercept cellphone calls and messages.
“[T]he National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) has observed anomalous activity in the National Capital Region that appears to be consistent with International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catchers,” DHS wrote responding to specific questions Wyden sent them last November.
It said that it has knowledge of IMSI use outside the…