Hackers once again prove that it doesn't matter how many security precautions someone takes, and what a hacker needs to see someone's location and see their phone calls and messages is simply their phone number!
This particular hack, which was first demonstrated by security researcher Karsten Nohl in 2014 at a hackers conference in Hamburg, appears to still be valid as he showed again on CBS's 60 Minutes.
The hack uses the network exchange service called Signalling System No. 7 (SS7), also known as C7 in the United Kingdom and as CCSS7 in the USA, which acts as an intermediary between mobile phone networks. When calls and messages are made between networks, SS7 handles details such as number translation, SMS routing, billing, and other back-end tasks that connect one network or caller with the other.
https://www.secnews.gr/103235/o-phineas-fisher-apokalupse-pws-paraviase-tous-servers-tis-hacking-team/Phineas Fisher revealed how he breached the servers of Hacking Team
By hacking or otherwise gaining access to SS7, hackers can track a person's location based on mobile phone triangulation, read sent and received messages and connect, record and listen to their calls using just the phone number as an identifier.
The Nohl who is currently conducting an analysis of the SS7 vulnerability for many international mobile networks, demonstrated the hack on the CBS show. He tracked a brand‑new phone that was given to US Senator Ted Lieu in California using only his phone number. Nohl pinpointed Ted Lieu's movements on the streets of Los Angeles, read his messages and logged the calls between the senator and his staff.
https://www.secnews.gr/103160/oi-dhmosiografoi-dn-prepei-na-fovountai-th-xrhsh-hacked-dedomenwn/btn-large” variation=”btn-success”]Journalists should not be afraid of using hacked data!
The biggest problem is that consumers cannot do much to protect themselves since the attack comes from the network side regardless of whether the phone is used.
Nohl said: “The mobile network is independent of your phone’s GPS chip. It knows where you are! So any choices the senator could have made, such as choosing a phone, choosing a PIN number, installing or not some applications, do not matter and would not change what we showed because this targets the mobile network.”
Naturally, hackers are likely to exploit the vulnerability, and security services, including the US National Security Service, also considered using it to monitor and identify their targets.
Read also this vulnerability that Nohl discovered a few months ago:
https://www.secnews.gr/99801/%CE%B5%CF%80%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AF%CE%BD%CE%B4%CF%85%CE%BD%CE%B1-%CF%83%CF%85%CF%83%CF%84%CE%AE%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%B1-%CF%80%CE%BB%CE%B7%CF%81%CF%89%CE%BC%CE%AE%CF%82-%CF%80%CE%B9%CF%83%CF%84%CF%89/Dangerous payment systems with credit cards in Europe!
