http://www.global-security-solutions.com/PGFDigitalCellularIntercepter.htm
http://www.theukwebdesigncompany.com/articles/article.php?article=1191
According to Srinivas (2001), one of the other claims was made by the ISAAC security research group. They asserted that a fake base station could be built for around $10,000, which would allow a “man-in-the-middle” attack. As a result of this, the real base station can get deluged which would compel a mobile station to connect to the fake station. Consequently, the base station could eavesdrop on the conversation by informing the phone to use A5/0, which is without encryption.

One of the other possible scenarios is of insider attack. In the GSM system, communication is encrypted only between the Mobile station and the Base Transceiver station but within the provider’s network, all signals are transmitted in plain text, which could give a chance for a hacker to step inside (Li, Chen & Ma).

I liked the line of the phone companies considering that illegal -- and here all along I thought it was government in charge of the laws. Oh, I forgot, government went to the highest bidders awhile back, didn't it?

this should keep the script kiddies out (for a while)

"If it was that easy wouldnt it have been broken 10+ years ago?"

10 years ago you would have needed about 15-20 hard disks to store a 2 TB rainbow table. Not to mention that the computing power to handle such a huge table was not available and RAM memory was slow, small and expensive.

Now we have 2 TB HDDs, 4 GB memory sticks and powerful quad core processors available in the consumer market and that is what makes this kind of attack possible in realtime.

If it was that easy wouldnt it have been broken 10+ years ago?

Must be more to it than that.

It's supposedly held out 15+ years thats longer than most modern systems.