Cognyte Sells a Mobile Cell-Phone Surveillance System

Yet another Israeli company specializing in mass surveillance has come to light thanks to a published contract. This time it's Cognyte and its device called FalcoNet.

How it works

The technology imitates a cellular base station — a cell tower. Once they come within range, phones are forced to connect to the fake station, after which law enforcement gains the ability to track every device within reach. The key detail: the surveillance nets not only the devices of suspects in a specific case, but also the phones of any random passersby who happen to be nearby.

The Texas contract

The details became known from Cognyte's contract with the state of Texas. According to the document, the simulator can be hidden inside a vehicle, packed into a backpack for foot operations, or mounted on a helicopter. In other words, the system is designed for covert use in a wide variety of settings — from a mobile van to aerial patrols.

Not a new idea

At its core, FalcoNet is the same technology as the infamous Stingray, one of the first cell-tower simulators, produced by the defense giant L3Harris. Devices like these have long drawn criticism from civil rights advocates precisely because of the indiscriminate nature of the data they collect: they don't distinguish the target of surveillance from everyone else who simply happens to be carrying a switched-on phone.

The arrival of yet another Israeli vendor in this market continues a familiar pattern: tools originally built for the needs of intelligence and defense increasingly end up in the hands of local police — along with all the attendant questions about privacy and the legality of mass data collection.

Source: Schneier on Security