> Why aren't cell phone tower communications secured? Why aren't cell towers secured with certificates verified by the network? They can be, but that adds cost

> Why aren't cell phone tower communications secured? Why aren't cell towers secured with certificates verified by the network? They can be, but that adds cost to running a cell phone network. Since very few people ask for their cell phone communications to be secured, companies just don't do it. it's like how GPS is completely unsecured - anyone with a couple hundred bucks can interfere with GPS signals. Maybe route a cruise ship into an island, or a random driver to a sketchy area of town. > Why aren't stingray devices considered an attack on the cell network? LEO's use them very frequently to conduct investigations and gather evidence. Just look at the current debate around full-device encryption. USA Law Enforcement really likes access to information. Telecommunications (and a lot of the inernet: TCP/IP, DNS, etc) were initially set up to be open - security was an afterthought. And they just never bothered to add security later on. Also deprecating old things is hard. People still expect to be able to pick up a charged Nokia phone from 2001 and call 911 on it.