‘Dirtbox’ planes masquerade as cell towers to collect smartphone data in sophisticate

[Wireless News]

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/dfXMNmVZiH.6.SPO.LpdlA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTg2O3E9NzU7dz0xMzA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/News/BGR_News/dirtbox-spy-plane-operations.jpg (http://news.yahoo.com/dirtbox-planes-masquerade-cell-towers-collect-smartphone-data-021508949.html)It’s no secret anymore that governmental agencies in the U.S. and other countries have access to sophisticated tools that allow them to track and collect data from smartphones and other devices without users knowing anything is happening, and The Wall Street Journal has uncovered yet another such operation which uses a special “dirtbox” technology installed in special planes that can mimic cell phone towers and fool smartphones into believing they’re connecting to a genuine carrier tower. FROM EARLIER: Sophisticated malware already spying on Hong Kong protesters’ iOS and Android phones In the process, the tool will collect unique identifiers about those devices, in order to track certain suspects without requiring any help from carriers. In addition to personal data related



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