I was not expecting this to arrive so quickly, but it’s here and I already have #Rayhunter installed on it. Going to take it out for a drive this evening.
I think this has some value above and beyond catching stingrays because of what it collects when recording. :)
A New Tool to Detect Cellular #Spying | EFFector 37.3
This edition of the newsletter covers our new open source tool to detect cellular spying, #Rayhunter ; The #Foilies2025 , our tongue-in-cheek awards to the worst responses to public records requests; and our recommendations to the #NSF for the new #AI Action Plan to put people first.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/new-tool-detect-cellular-spying-effector-373
A note on the name: Rayhunter is named such because Stingray is a brand name for cell-site simulators which has become a common term for the technology. One of the only natural predators of the stingray in the wild is the orca, some of which hunt stingrays for pleasure using a technique called wavehunting. Because we like Orcas, we don’t like stingray technology (though the animals are great!), and because it was the only name not already trademarked
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying
#Rayhunter, a new #opensource tool to detect cell site simulator #surveillance
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying
@eff #opensource project #Rayhunter…runs on an #Orbic mobile hotspot…<$20…
We hope #activists, #journalists…help us collect data about the usage and capabilities of #cellsitesimulators…
…works by intercepting…and analyzing the control traffic (but not user traffic…) between… Rayhunter…and the cell tower…
…notifies the user when something suspicious happens…allowing users to take appropriate action to protect themselves, such as turning off their phone…
@kuketzblog
Danke, aber wie komme ich an das Kästchen? Ist zwar schade, dass sich ein fake call nicht mit dem Handy entlarven lässt, aber auch extra HW hole ich mir gern, wenn ich mich damit effizient schützen kann.
#eff #rayhunter #imsicatcher
EFF veröffentlicht Rayhunter: Open-Source-Tool zur Erkennung von IMSI-Catchern. Rayhunter spürt Cell-Site-Simulatoren (CSS) auf, die Handys täuschen und überwachen. Es läuft auf günstiger Hardware und warnt bei verdächtigen Aktivitäten. 
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying
Am Mittwoch gibt es um 20:30 Uhr ein #petitFoo zum Thema "rayhunter". Was ist #rayhunter, was kann damit gemacht werden und wie lassen wir das auf europäische Hardware laufen? Mehr zum Thema findet ihr hier: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying
Yay, my Orbic unit ($11.92 via eBay) came with a Verizon SIM and is up and running with @eff Rayhunter!
Now planning a journey tomorrow, we’ll see what she yields.
Got #Rayhunter installed and running on my newly-purchased orbic. A bit cryptic, and as ever, there were permissions issues on my Mac installing it, but it's there, and once the box is charged up, I'll start carrying it around town and see what's what.
ETA explanatory link: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying
Nice work @eff - great seeing #Rayhunter back in development. Turn a cheap orbic hotspot into a 4G honeypot.
Difference in PCAPs between SIM & no SIM. It could possibly get control signals without one, making a SIM unnecessary?
@LambdaCalculus @ArtifexUmbra could you test if the minified binary from this pull request works? https://github.com/EFForg/rayhunter/pull/122 reducing the binary size would help porting #rayhunter to other devices which have less space available :)
There doesn't appear to be a community communication mechanism for the Rayhunter project so I'm going to post the occasional observation here and tag it for the handful that may be interested.
I've grabbed captures with No SIM, Expired SIM & Valid SIM. The expired SIM is the least interesting. It appears it may simply stop interacting with the network once it's told it's not going to get service, i.e. "EPS services not allowed"
Je viens de commander un Orbic Speed RC400L Mobile WiFi Hotspot pour installer le logiciel de détection de l'EFF RayHunter. Je pourrai l'amener lors des manifs pour la paix à Mtl et vérifier l'utilisation par le SPVM ou GRC de stingray aka IMSI catcher aka CSS (pour cell site simulator)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/rcmp-surveillance-imsi-catcher-mdi-stingray-cellphone-1.4056750
https://goodtech.info/rayhunter-ce-nouvel-outil-open-source-detecte-lespionnage-sur-mobile/
Rayhunter up and running. Honestly, the hardest part was upgrading Mint to 22.1.
Green line=good. Going to take it out for a test drive tomorrow and see what I can capture.
Got my hotspot today and within 5 minutes had #rayhunter up and running from @eff
Quelqu'un a réussi à acheter un joujou 4G-Wifi hotspot Orbic en France ? J'aimerai éviter Amazon (qui de toute façon ne veut pas le livrer en France) et je n'ai pas de compte Ebay. C'est pour installer #Rayhunter https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/meet-rayhunter-new-open-source-tool-eff-detect-cellular-spying
Falls ihr auf der #mrmcd24 einen tplink-m7350 mitgenommen habt und #rayhunter ausprobieren wollt, findet ihr alle Infos dazu verlinkt in diesem Issue https://github.com/EFForg/rayhunter/issues/106#issuecomment-2706661413
Talk by the authors of the EFF #Rayhunter tool used to detect IMSI catchers (Stingrays). Talk goes from them knowing basically nothing to software implementation including under the hood details. Well worth a watch if you're into surveillance tech.
