IMSI Catchers And The Happy Yellow Helicopter: Security Challenges At Standing Rock

IMSI Catchers And The Happy Yellow Helicopter: Security Challenges At Standing Rock

Geeks Without Bounds coordinated the Internet connectivity, radio support, and renewable power for the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline protest camps at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota from September 2016 to February 2017. Within hours of arriving at Standing Rock, Lisha Sterling discovered problems with her mobile phone, and that began an investigation into the various ways that cyberwarfare techniques were being used against protesters by a consortium of governmental and private security agencies. This talk includes photos and stories from Standing Rock about physical sabotage, IMSI catchers, airborne surveillance, and mystery devices which drain phone and car batteries instantly, along with lessons learned that can be used in a range of situations where activists face heavy-handed opposition.

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