While there are many devices used to discreetly track people, tracking products are much rarer. So much so that a cybersecurity specialist decided to create their own device.
How do you know someone is following you? In fact, products that offer this feature are very rare, so rare that Matt Edmonston, a veteran of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security, the US equivalent of the Department of the Interior), has decided to develop his own device.
Detect smartphones around you
Attending the Black Hat conferences held in Las Vegas a few days ago, this cybersecurity specialist was challenged by a colleague from another agency, who asked him if there was a system that would let him know if he was being followed. A question ” very serious “, This friend is afraid of being followed, which would endanger the life of a source. And we’re not kidding, because it was an action against a terrorist group.
With no solution on the market, Edmonston decided to create a device to detect the presence of smartphones around you. Almost everyone has a smartphone, which regularly sends signals to connect to known Wi-Fi networks. Security agencies ask their agents to turn off their smartphones during missions, but it can happen that a phone is accidentally left on …
The handyman’s idea was to assemble a Raspberry Pi 3B, a Wi-Fi antenna built from Alfa and a battery, all connected to a screen. After installing the Kismet software (monitors Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other nearby mobile networks), he invented a system to detect SSID, access point ID. The names given to Wi-Fi hotspots tend to be quite unique, he explains, ” is a good indicator “.
The device notifies the user when it finds an SSID that has already been collected in the last twenty minutes. Which could mean that someone is out and about watching you … The software code is open source and the necessary hardware, which fits in a suitcase, costs 100 euros.