CybersecurityCongress must adopt stronger safeguards for wireless cybersecurity: Expert

Published 18 July 2018

Thanks to the advent of cell phones, tablets and smart cars, Americans are increasingly reliant on wireless services and products. Yet despite digital technology advancements, security and privacy safeguards for consumers have not kept pace. One expert told lawmakers that Congress should take immediate action to address threats caused by cell-site simulators by “ensuring that, when Congress spends about a billion taxpayer dollars on wireless services and devices each year, it procures services and devices that implement cybersecurity best practices.”

Thanks to the advent of cell phones, tablets and smart cars, Americans are increasingly reliant on wireless services and products. Yet despite digital technology advancements, security and privacy safeguards for consumers have not kept pace.

On 27 June, the Committee on Science, Space and Technology’s Subcommittee on Oversight of the 115th U.S. Congress convened a hearing to consider communications security and privacy in an increasingly wireless landscape.

Among the testifying witnesses was Jonathan Mayer, assistant professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Mayer recently served as chief technologist of the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau, and he joined the Princeton faculty in March 2018.

In his opening statement, Chairman Ralph Abraham (R-La.) described the threat posed by cell-site simulators. These rogue cellular towers, often dubbed “IMSI catchers,” “Stingrays,” or “Dirtboxes,” can intercept cellular calls, texts, and data as well as track cell phones. Like many technologies, these cell-site simulators can be used lawfully — but they can also be abused by criminals and foreign intelligence services.

“Historically, the use of IMSI catcher technology has been limited to law enforcement, defense and intelligence services,” Abraham said. “However, as sophisticated technologies have become more commonplace and advances in manufacturing have made the production of highly technical products easier and cheaper, IMSI catcher technology and nefarious actors looking to exploit it have proliferated.”

In response, Mayer stressed how Congress should take immediate action to address threats caused by cell-site simulators by “ensuring that, when Congress spends about a billion taxpayer dollars on wireless services and devices each year, it procures services and devices that implement cybersecurity best practices.”

Princeton says that at Princeton, Mayer studies the intersection of technology, law, and public policy. In his testimony, he explained how cell-site simulators function, what information they can obtain, and how foreign intelligence services could use these devices to conduct espionage against America’s businesses and government institutions.