[1066] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] "$15 phone,
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (privacy@vortex.com)
Wed Dec 29 17:17:14 2010
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:04:05 -0800
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"$15 phone, 3 minutes all that's needed to eavesdrop on GSM call"
http://bit.ly/hSmtkB (ars technica)
It's worth noting that the practical impact of this exercise is
considerably less alarming than it might appear. Despite the claim
that calls are often shunted off to 2G GSM networks, the fact is that
an increasing percentage of calls are via 3G (or "4G") systems, which
(currently at least) have a "secure" crypto system. Also, this
technique requires physical presence within the cell of the target
phone -- and with smaller and smaller cells this can be a significant
effort.
Finally, there are generally much easier ways to tap phones. If
you're a government entity, you go to the cell carrier and demand
access at the switch -- no screwing around with the air link at all.
And if you're a crook, you'll probably find it much easier to use a
firmware based approach, assuming you can trick your target into
installing it on their phone somehow (or get hold of the phone long
enough to do it yourself).
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com)
http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
Co-Founder, PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility): http://www.pfir.org
Founder, NNSquad (Network Neutrality Squad): http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP (Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance):
http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Google Buzz: http://bit.ly/lauren-buzz
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