Signs of sophisticated cellphone spying found near White House, U.S. officials say

Members of the Secret Service patrol from the top of the White House. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

 

A federal study found signs that surveillance devices for intercepting cellphone calls and texts were operating near the White House and other sensitive locations in the Washington area last year.

A Department of Homeland Security program discovered evidence of the surveillance devices, called IMSI catchers, as part of federal testing last year, according to a letter from DHS to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on May 22. The letter didn’t specify what entity operated the devices and left open the possibility that there could be alternative explanations for the suspicious cellular signals collected by the federal testing program last year.

California sheriff’s office admits to cell-phone spying

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department broke its silence on controversial cellphone spying devices Thursday and said it possesses and utilizes the technology.

Sheriff Scott Jones had previously refused to answer questions about documents indicating that his department owned a cellphone spying device called a Stingray. A federal grant application from the San Jose Police Department says that department consulted several departments with the technology, including the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.