Dozens of policing agencies are currently using cell-site simulators (CSS) by Jacobs Technology and its Engineering Integration Group (EIG), according to newly-available documents on how that company provides CSS capabilities to local law enforcement. A proposal document from Jacobs Technology,...
The lower layers all already at least moderately well encrypted, what they’re doing here is trying to pull the unencrypted device ID necessary to establish a connection. It’s not really what you’re sending (though traffic frequency analysis may be included) and more about just figuring out where a particular phone is so they can physically track the user.