Protesters near Portland’s ICE facility could have been been surveilled by fake cell towers, new reporting finds

Think Out Loud

Protesters near Portland’s ICE facility could have been been surveilled by fake cell towers, new reporting finds

Clean

Published on Oct 15, 2025, 1:07:02 PM
Total time: 00:15:50

Episode Description

 Protesters at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland may have had their identifiable information from their cellphones surveilled, new reporting from Straight Arrow News found. An analysis done by the news organization found evidence that suggests a cell-site simulator was used in the area. These devices mimic cell towers and are able to capture a phone's unique SIM card number known as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity. Mikael Thalen is a tech reporter for Straight Arrow News and used a research tool known as Marlin to report this story. He joins us to share more.

 

More about Think Out Loud

OPB's daily conversation covering news, politics, culture and the arts. Hosted By Dave Miller.