A German security researcher and his team of collaborators have cracked GSM encryption and released an encryption codebook. This significantly reduces the amount of money and technical expertise required to tap on to a GSM-based mobile phone call. It is time for an upgrade.
Law enforcement agents and cyber criminals have been able to crack GSM encryption for sometime, but the cost was high and so it wasn’t much of a threat. However, this new method lowers the price of entry to the point that it is more of an issue, but still not a high risk.
GSM is the most widely-used mobile phone technology in the world. GSM is used by over 3 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories. The first GSM network was launched in 1991 by Radiolinja in Finland with joint technical infrastructure maintenance from Ericsson.
The encryption algorithm that protects GSM-based calls from being intercepted and eavesdropped is more than twenty years old. Time is the enemy of encryption. And so, it is no wonder that GSM has been cracked. In the coming few years, it is bound to get fully hacked and so it would be time for an upgraded alternative.
[Via: PCWorld]
Authors bio is coming up shortly.