The 404 Media Podcast How to Detect Phone Spying Tech (with Cooper Quintin)
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Mar 2, 2026 Cooper Quintin, a senior public interest technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who helped build Rayhunter. He explains IMSI-catchers and how they trick phones into revealing IDs. He compares cheap DIY rigs to law enforcement gear. He describes how Rayhunter detects suspicious towers and why dedicated hardware is safer than phone apps.
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What An IMSI Catcher Actually Does
- IMSI catchers are fake cell towers that trick phones into connecting and reveal a phone's IMSI.
- Cooper Quintin explains IMSI uniquely identifies a SIM so police can get subscriber details from carriers.
Cellular Design Lets Simulators Trick Phones
- Phones always seek the strongest/most available tower, so cell site simulators advertise stronger signals to force reconnection.
- Quintin explains towers can ask for identifiers without authentication, so phones often hand over IMSIs.
Simulators Give Apartment-Level Location And Intercept Data
- Beyond grabbing IMSIs, simulators can pinpoint a person to a specific apartment and perform man-in-the-middle for unencrypted calls/SMS.
- Quintin notes simulators give far finer location than carrier tower pings or ad-based tools.