Get Tech Support Now - (818) 584-6021 - C2 Technology Partners, Inc.

Get Tech Support Now - (818) 584-6021 - C2 Technology Partners, Inc.

C2 provides technology services and consultation to businesses and individuals.

T (818) 584 6021
Email: info@c2techs.net

C2 Technology Partners, Inc.
26500 Agoura Rd, Ste 102-576, Calabasas, CA 91302

Open in Google Maps
QUESTIONS? CALL: 818-584-6021
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • SERVICES
    • Encryption
    • Backups
  • ABOUT
    • Privacy Policy
FREECONSULT
Tuesday, 23 July 2013 / Published in Woo on Tech

Older Phones Might Have SIM Card Weakness

Weakness exposed

A german security researcher has revealed that as many as 750 million cellphones may be vulnerable to to hacking via their SIM card if it’s encrypted with DES (Data Encryption Standard) originally coded in the 1970s. Through studies on approximately 1000 sim chips and phones, Karsten Nohl of Security Research Labs demonstrated the ability to fool the older SIM chips into thinking he was authorized to access confidential data on the phone, including SMS texts, call logs as well as pay for fraudulent services via the phone. In theory, this level of access could grant an attacker the ability to compromise and steal the phone owner’s identity on top of gaining access to online bank accounts and other high-risk areas.

What this means for you:

Mr. Nohl has not revealed to the public the details of which SIM cards may suffer from this weakness and has instead been working closely with SIM card manufacturers to assist them with identifying and hopefully remediating the weakness where they can. His estimates are that as many as 3 billion cell phones use the older-generation SIM cards, but only some of those are prone to the security bug he has exploited in the above research. According to SIM manufacturers, they stopped using the older DES method back in 2008, so it’s likely that if your phone is less than 3-years old, you are probably safe from this particular exploit. If you have a phone that is older than 3-years, you should consider replacing it with a newer phone, or at minimum, see about getting a new SIM card from your carrier if you want to continue using your cellphone.

  • Tweet
Tagged under: cellphone, des, encryption, exploit, identity theft, security, sim card

What you can read next

Spyware Users Busted
CIA Hacking Portfolio on Display Courtesy of Wikileaks
Thumb Drive
Humble Thumb Drive Still a Security Nightmare
What the heck is GDPR?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Update your tech vocabulary for 2023

    If there is one thing that the Internet excels ...
  • We sold our souls, but not how you might think.

    Part of an occasional series of articles that d...
  • “Low on Cyan.”*

    If you catch me at the end of a frustrating day...
  • GPTBot starts crawling the web. Resistance is futile.

    I know some of you are Trekkies, and even if yo...
  • Surprise, surprise. Hackers are using AI to bolster their attacks.

    The FBI held a press conference last week to co...

Archives

  • GET SOCIAL
Get Tech Support Now - (818) 584-6021 - C2 Technology Partners, Inc.

© 2016 All rights reserved.

TOP