CIA technology used to scan data from cellphones overseas has allegedly been used by the US Marshals Service to spy on phones in the US and Mexico.
For over a decade, airborne devices employed by the Central Intelligence Agency in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere have been shared with the Marshals Service, an agency of the Department of Justice, the Wall Street Journal revealed Tuesday. Research and development of the technology has cost over $100 million, according to the paper’s investigative report.
Small airplanes operating out of five US cities have been equipped with devices — called “dirtboxes” — that mimic cell tower signals, tricking mobile phones into revealing their unique identification information. This is then used to locate targets within three meters (10 feet). The flying range of the airplanes was described as “covering most of the US population.”