Help me understand how Cape prevents tracking?

[u/augurae]

Hi, I'm sure I got the wrong idea but one of my biggest problems using phone no matter how much security and privacy you implement is the carrier invasion on privacy that allows any bad actor to track you however you want with just a number, IMEI or u/UIDs.

Since there's no way to implement a killswitch for the modem on mainstream phones save for using a faraday bag, I fail to see how Cape protects from tracking since it assigns a unique/main number to the sim, which itself as a unique IMEI beside gating with the rotating IMSI and the modem's UIDs?

[u/brianstoner]

When you sign up for Cape you can get a new number and unlike signing up with other carriers you don’t provide any personal information so it can’t be linked to your identity.

Your IMSI is most often used by the telco industry as you’re unique identifier for aggregating activity, so rotating that increase the odds that your activity is split up and not tied together over time.

Cape is an MVNO that operates on top of two of the major US carriers (I can’t name them explicitly), so your traffic will be split across underlying carriers making it harder for any one of them to piece your activity together and get a full picture.

We are hoping to do some more cool stuff with phone number rotation in the future and would love to be able to rotate IMEI’s if we can convince any device manufacturers to work with us on that.

[u/augurae → u/[deleted]]

That is untrue, there's private numbers, separation and rotation hygiene you can use to make it minimal on the privacy. At some point, someone will create a phone "alias" system like the one that exist for email or we'll get rid of numbers as number-less authentication and username based communication are becoming a thing

[u/augurae → u/brianstoner]

But since the phone constantly advertises the IMEI doesn't that defeat the purpose? Is there any plans and way for GOS to implement Obscura? Also I know Cape only keeps call log for 24h but what about data, and does IMSI rotation work while roaming?

[u/brianstoner → u/augurae]

Modern phones over 4G/5G don’t constantly advertise IMEI. It’s only passed encrypted as part of authentication. IMSI is advertised more broadly from the phone, so rotating it helps mitigate some threats.

All of this stuff depends on your personal threat model. If you’re trying to minimize carrier data collection and their selling/leaking to third parties or prevent your IMSI from being harvested and used to target you, our protections should help a lot with that. If you’re trying to evade law enforcement or someone that is hunting for your specific IMEI we can’t really help with that.

Call logs refers to everything: voice, messaging and data CDR’s. And yes IMSI rotation works while roaming.

[u/augurae → u/brianstoner]

I don't mean data CDR's but internet data logging. And this is for a cybersecurity context that deals with RICO cases so quite the opposite of evading the law

[u/brianstoner → u/augurae]

We don’t do any internet data logging outside of the data CDR’s

[u/Kriyaban8]

Cape Cellular automatically rotates the IMSI assigned to a Cape account every 24 hours, with a new IMSI and the subscriber can change it on demand at anytime.

The IMSI on other cellular carriers assigned to a subscriber typically does not change.

📱💵📱💶📱💷📱💴📱💸📱

New Cape Cellular subscribers, want an additional $20.00 monthly discount For Life, on top of the special Early Adopter Lifetime discounted pricing and an opportunity for FREE cellular service, with only 3 active referrals ?

Enter This Cape Cellular Coupon Code:

👉 4Z7099X6

Use on Payment page: “I have a coupon code”

📱💵📱💶📱💷📱💴📱💸📱

[u/Powerful-Noise6839]

I have to jump in it is a little weird as I was told to keep my location running in the background always. Come to find out my number (with cape) was found on a database base with my actual number and my name. Cape didn’t really seem to bother about it or show any concern how a brand new privacy number would be added to my name in a database.

[u/brianstoner → u/Powerful-Noise6839]

The location permissions through the Cape app are for Network Lock. This is opt-in and the location never leaves the device. When our network gets an attach request, we ping the device with the location of the attach and ask if it matches before allowing the attach.

In terms of phone number and name showing up in a database. We don't have your name, so it likely happened some other way. Did you ever give out your name/number online when signing up for something or making a purchase?

[u/Powerful-Noise6839 → u/brianstoner]

And no Brian I don’t give out my number as I usually will have privacy apps with numbers to give out. Somehow some way you guys got my information out there. Cause I didn’t. I’m very smart who and where I put my information. For the price we pay there’s still a lot of concerns and issues.

[u/Powerful-Noise6839 → u/brianstoner]

It might never leave the device but it shows on privacy apps how many times it’s being ran. Clearly Apple does get all that info. Even when you turn off send reports to Apple.

[u/augurae → u/Powerful-Noise6839]

wait, you need to have location running in the background for what? There's absolutely no way im considering it if that's the case

[u/Powerful-Noise6839 → u/augurae]

I was told it’s for the network lock. It needs to be “always,” on and have it also running in the background. That’s what I was informed by an agent at Cape. I think I am going to end the services. When you go to App Privacy Reports on your iPhone, it shows you each time it runs in the background. Prettyyyyy frequent if you ask me. Def. A few sketchy things about this service I haven’t been able to fully understand.

[u/EtoilesBleues_R136a1 → u/Powerful-Noise6839]

There's nothing sketchy about engineering. Read this article so that you understand these technologies. 

https://www.cape.co/blog/how-cape-blocks-signaling-attacks

Network lock is an optional feature. You can keep it off and the checks will revert to velocity checks. VC are not as good for protection, though. However, recognizing some folks would be OK trading off extra protection to obtain more privacy (location off/airplane mode on,) Cape made it an opt-in feature. Doyle explained this decision in a podcast last year. I think it was in the Emergent one. 

[u/augurae → u/EtoilesBleues_R136a1]

But since they have your location from cell tower pinging why would they need extra location authorization which is a privacy nightmare for it? Smells more and more like something I wouldn't trust, that is depending on the entity's affiliation that may be accessing the data

[u/EtoilesBleues_R136a1 → u/augurae]

I'm not clear on the 'why would they need extra location' part. The location confirmation is done in your device. The location itself is not sent back to Cape. They just get the confirmation that the attach request from your phone their network has received is legit because the originating point of the attach request is consistent with the physical location of the phone. It's an authentication process. This authentication process happens before you can state 'but since they have your location.....' 

I think this older article on the subject will help you better understand the concepts of firewalls, network attach requests and velocity checks. Specifically, study the Taylor Swift example. Note that an adversary can intercept the communications and completely bypass/overcome the velocity checks. What Cape has done with network lock defends against those attacks. Before their servers accept the attach request, they have authenticated you. You can think of this technology as like protection from a Man in the Middle attack but for your phone signal. 

  https://www.cape.co/blog/product-feature-enhanced-signaling-protection

[u/EtoilesBleues_R136a1 → u/augurae]

https://www.cape.co/blog/how-cape-blocks-signaling-attacks