Detecting Rogue Mobile Devices

Rogue devices are one of the fastest growing security issues that both private sector organisations and governments are faced with. These are unauthorised and unwanted devices that connect to the network and use up the organisations network resources. Controlling which mobile devices can connect to your network is crucial to ensuring the privacy and integrity of corporate assets and data. 

Cyber criminals often attempt to breach networks by  inserting doctored  mobile devices into the supply chain for final delivery to target organisations. Their aim is to get the rogue devices onto government and commercial premises.

Now the US Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is testing portable technology that can detect, locate and identify all cellular, Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi devices operating within a 3,000 square-foot area. The ability to monitor the electromagnetic spectrum enables real-time detection of wireless devices so that protective operations and law enforcement can detect uninvited wireless devices in meeting spaces, remote offices, hotel rooms, or in the field.

The DHS and the wider government community are continuously in search of capabilities that can be rapidly deployed for temporary field applications, according to the agency’s announcement. The Silicon Valley Innovation Program awarded a Phase 5 Other Transaction Agreement to Bastille Networks, an enterprise threat detection firm, to continue working with DHS to demonstrate how its software-defined radios and machine learning technology can passively monitor an area for wireless device emissions.

Initially developed for the Defense Department, the Flyaway Kit is a portable version of its enterprise product. The self-contained system comes with five sensors, a mini-switch, laptop, cat6 cables and tripods, and it can fit into several types of protective cases for temporary mobile deployments.

The system can detect and locate cellphones and Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and BLE devices within 30 to 90 minutes and then shows the rogue devices as dots on a map.

DHS S&T has acquired the Flyaway Kit for additional independent testing and evaluation in a controlled setting to validate requirements, evaluate cost-benefits and determine the system’s usability in the field, according to gsn.com.

US Dept. Homeland Security:      Search Mobile:       IP Switch:          ResearchGate:    I-HLS: 

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