[joering2]

A $9,000 per machine. Is it possible for a civilian to purchase it?

Knowing this is unconstitutional and if there are no government laws (shouldn't be right?) forbidding you from purchasing it, can I sue them if they refuse to sell me one?

Correct me if I'm wrong but putting this machine around Wall Street (given you know how to sell and buy stocks) would probably get you $9k back in less than a day, hm?

I still wonder though, if cellphones technology is secure and traffic encrypted, then how come can they listen to it? Wouldn't it be that Verizon or Apple had to give them some sort of keys to open the traffic and read it? (serious question)

[adventured]

That's incorrect.

It's illegal for you to do something like this. Very illegal. They would likely arrest you for attempting to purchase one, even if you had done nothing wrong. You could try to sue them, but then you can do that at any time; trying is never the problem, the consequences are.

It's not a situation where they were granted permission to do it, in a Constitutionally friendly sort of way.

These are extra-legal programs, where nobody will get in trouble regardless of the context, and they're simply saying: just try to stop us.

[jacquesm]

Why is receiving data openly transmitted on the airwaves illegal?

[lawnchair_larry]

These aren't passive devices. They have to "stomp" on AT&T's signal to get your phone to associate with them, then spoof as the carrier.

There is a loophole though - if you target a phone with the correct bands, one of the european bands is a ham radio band in the US, so licensed operators can play around that way.

Also, the DIY version is about $1000.

[emddudley]

Ask Google about their Street View wardriving project... an appeals court ruled that it violated the Wiretap Act.

http://www.wired.com/2014/04/threatlevel_0401_streetview/

[anigbrowl]

That was quite different though, because Google was (inadvertently) recording packet data as well as SSIDs. It's right there in the 3rd paragraph.

[morganvachon]

> can I sue them if they refuse to sell me one?

No, and you can't sue any company for refusing to sell you their product. In some cases you can sue if they refuse to serve you based on discrimination (i.e. a restaurant or hotel) under the Federal Civil Rights Act, or even a state-level civil rights act or charter, but that's a different set of circumstances. There are all manner of businesses who refuse to sell their goods directly to the consumer and sell to distributors only, and they aren't getting sued over it.

There's also the issue that using the device, period, is against Federal law, yet our Federal government is doing it anyway. They get away with it because they can[1], but you would likely end up in prison, possibly without a public trial.

[1]I think what they are doing is wrong and illegal, but until a judge puts a stop to it they will continue to get away with it.