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. However, there is nothing stopping the government from setting one up on your block if you end up on the wrong list.

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