Israel accused of placing spy devices near White House: Report
Tehran (KNA) - The US government has concluded within the past two years that Israel has been placing surveillance devices near the White House and other sensitive locations around Washington, DC, according to a US media outlet.
In contrast to other instances of foreign spying, however, President Donald Trump's administration has not rebuked Israel, and there were no consequences for the regime's behavior, Politico reported on Thursday, citing three former senior US officials with knowledge of the matter.
The miniature surveillance devices, colloquially known as "StingRays," mimic regular cell towers to fool cell phones into giving them their locations and identity information. Formally called international mobile subscriber identity-catchers or IMSI-catchers, they also can capture the contents of calls and data use.
The devices were likely intended to spy on President Donald Trump, one of the former officials said, as well as his top aides and closest associates -- though it's not clear whether the Israeli efforts were successful.
Trump is reputed to be lax in observing White House security protocols. POLITICO reported in May 2018 that the president often used an insufficiently secured cell phone to communicate with friends and confidants.
Source: PressTV