Editing Cell site (section)

==Spy agency setup==
According to documents leaked to {{lang|de|Der Spiegel}}, the NSA sells a $40,000 "active GSM base station" to be used as a tool to mimic a mobile phone tower and thus monitor cell phones.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/catalog-reveals-nsa-has-back-doors-for-numerous-devices-a-940994.html|title=Shopping for Spy Gear: Catalog Advertises NSA Toolbox|first1=Jacob|last1=Appelbaum|first2=Judith|last2=Horchert|first3=Christian|last3=Stöcker|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=29 December 2013|via=Spiegel Online|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=16 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216161512/https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/catalog-reveals-nsa-has-back-doors-for-numerous-devices-a-940994.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2014, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that the Technical Operations Group of the U.S. Marshals utilizes spy devices, known as "dirtboxes", to mimic powerful cell tower signals. Such devices are designed to cause mobile phones to switch over to the tower, as it is the strongest signal within reach. The devices are placed on airplanes to effectively create a "dragnet", gathering data about phones as the planes travel above populated areas.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-cellphones-targeted-in-secret-u-s-spy-program-1415917533?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj |title=Americans' Cellphones Targeted in Secret U.S. Spy Program: Devices on Planes that Mimic Cellphone Towers Used to Target Criminals, but Also Sift Through Thousands of Other Phones |author=Devlin Barrett |publisher=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=13 November 2014 |access-date=14 November 2014 |archive-date=6 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180606184721/https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-cellphones-targeted-in-secret-u-s-spy-program-1415917533?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://gizmodo.com/secret-u-s-spy-program-targeted-cell-phones-1658573067 |title=WSJ: A Secret U.S. Spy Program Is Using Planes to Target Cell Phones |author=Kate Knibbs |publisher=Gizmodo |date=13 November 2014 |access-date=14 November 2014 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130200946/https://gizmodo.com/secret-u-s-spy-program-targeted-cell-phones-1658573067 |url-status=live }}</ref>