Cognyte Sells a Mobile Cell Surveillance Van
Israeli surveillance firm Cognyte has sold a mobile cell-site simulator called FalcoNet to the state of Texas. The device mimics a cell tower, forcing nearby phones to connect to it, and can be deployed from a vehicle, a backpack, or a helicopter.
Why this matters: This technology does not target suspects. It sweeps up every phone in range and sorts out the details later. That means your location and device identity can be captured because you happened to be near a protest, a courthouse, or wherever law enforcement decides to deploy it. The backpack version makes that invisible. Stingray-style devices have been used for years with almost no public disclosure, and courts are still catching up on what rules apply. A contract with Texas is a useful window into how this market works — but most deployments never surface at all.
Who should care: Privacy officers · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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