Hackers can get all kinds of clever tricks these days, and now has come to light that just by knowing the phone number of a person, a malicious user can exploit a network failure to listen to calls or read messages text.
In fact, using the failure of a hacker can not only listen to calls and determine who is calling, but it is possible to trace the owner of the phone and see where they go throughout the day.
It is a level of fear of commitment that can be cracked simply given the knowledge of the phone number, and exploits a security flaw in SS7 (Signaling System Seven), a global network that connects mobile operators and facilitates the exchange of information billing (and allows roaming mobile phone).
60 Minutes reported the flaw in an interview with a German team of white hat hackers who are currently testing the safety limits of the smartphone.
Nohl Karsten, who leads the team noted, though you've probably never heard over the network, all mobile phones only uses SS7 to make calls or texts. Security measures on any phone are effectively irrelevant when it comes to network the phone is using being compromised.
Nohl showed the feat in action, for it, against a Republican congressman more in the US he was given an off-the-shelf iPhone specifically for the experiment. Nohl achieved political intercept calls and track their movements through Washington and Los Angeles, just know the phone number of the phone from Apple.
While the security team Germany has been legally granted access to SS7 to perform this test, cybercriminals have shown they can access the network previously.
Therefore a solution is being worked on mobile operators? Well, there's the problem as a family history, intelligence agencies make use of this defect to their own surveillance activities, and therefore do not necessarily want patched.
Of course, this is not trivial to exploit and only important goals as politicians are likely to be victims of attempted hacks. But while intelligence agencies could argue for monitoring the prevention of terrorism, national secrets could also be poured into the wrong hands by this vulnerability.
As things are, technically speaking, anyone with a smartphone is safe from eavesdropping.
Source : CNET
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