Since 2007, the United States Marshals Service has been operating a program where aircraft it operates are equipped with devices designed to imitate cell towers for the purposes of gathering unique mobile phone registration data.These devices, similar to the StingRay equipment used by law enforcement on the ground, are called “dirtboxes,” derived from the name of the company that makes them, DRT, Inc. (Digital Recovery Technology), which is a subsidiary of Boeing.
These dirtboxes are installed on Cessna aircraft operated out of five airports situated around larger cities, allowing ...