The U.S. government is reportedly using spy airplanes equipped with special military-grade snooping equipment to eavesdrop on cell phone information from millions of smartphone users. The planes are fitted onto Cessna aircraft and fly from at least five metropolitan airports in the US, according to a new report. The name Dirtbox is given after the initials of Digital Receiver Technology, Inc. (DRT), a Boeing Company subsidiary that allegedly manufactures these devices. The purpose of the device is supposedly to track a specific target, but if active, all mobile devices in the particular area will respond to the signal.
Source: https://thehackernews.com/2014/11/spy-planes-equipped-with-dirtbox.html