MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Dozens of mysterious interceptor towers that can listen in Americans' phone conversations have been spotted around the Capitol in the United States amid fears they could be of foreign origin, according to a secure cellphone maker that made the discovery.
"It's highly unlikely that federal law enforcement would be using mobile interceptors near the Senate… My suspicion is that it is a foreign entity," Les Goldsmith, the CEO of ESD America, told the tech news website VentureBeat.
ESD America, which is a company trading in secure mobile phones, discovered several interceptor towers close to the Senate and the White House during routine maintenance missions for its Cryptophone 500 cellphones.
There are at least 18 towers in the D.C. area with about 45 tipped to be located elsewhere, according to Les Goldsmith. But suspicions are that more towers are still lurking across the United States, since all discoveries were made over less than two days of traveling.
Although commonly referred to as "towers," these interceptor devices can be as small as briefcases, the website quoted Goldsmith as saying. There are two types of cellphone interceptors: IMSI Catchers that can steal subscriber data, and GSM Interceptors that can listen in phone conversations.
Goldsmith also told VentureBeat that several towers had been found near foreign embassies in Washington, including the Russian one.
All information about the towers has been passed on to the Federal Communications Commission.
