Stingray

Stingrays are cellular phone surveillance devices, specifically ones which function as IMSI catchers and/or cellular site (tower) simulators. The name comes from a line of tower simulators made for law enforcement and the military by the Harris Corporation, stylized as “StingRay”. The term Stingray itself has since become a slang term for IMSI catchers and tower simulators in general.

Stingrays are frequently rolled out to enable warrantless wiretapping on both individuals and crowds, for a multitude of reasons. Most people who get sucked into the net of one of these, will have it happen at a protest or other street event.

Stingrays generally have two modes, passive mode and active mode, which each work differently:

• EFF article on IMSI catchers at the Street Level Surveillance project