SIM cards may be hacked in as little as two minutes with a couple of text messages, according to some experts.
Every GSM phone requires a SIM card, and you’d think that such a widely used standard would be impervious to any attempts to hijack it. Karsten Nohl of Security Research Labs, who previously discovered a gap in GSM call encryption some years ago, has now discovered a bug that allows some SIM cards to be hacked with only a few of text messages sent to the SIM card. Nohl claims that by disguising an SMS so that it looks to have originated from a carrier, he is able to obtain an error message back that contains the information needed to figure out the SIM’s digital key in around a quarter of the instances. With such information, another text message may be sent that allows the recipient to listen in on calls, send messages, make mobile transactions, and steal any other type of data they choose.
All of this can be accomplished “in about two minutes, using a simple personal computer,” according to the author, although it only affects SIM cards that are still utilizing the older data encryption standard (DES). Cards that use the more recent Triple DES are unaffected, as are the other three-quarters of SIM cards that use DES. Nohl’s investigation revealed that his first message had been forged. There is no definitive estimate of how many SIM cards are at risk, but Nohl believes the number might be as high as 750 million. DES-based operators and SIM makers have been notified of the exploit, which has been reported to the GSM Association and other relevant parties for further investigation. Nohl intends to spill the beans at the next Black Hat conference in San Francisco. If you’re listening, good people at the National Security Agency, tickets are still available.
Some cybersecurity firms make it relatively simple to hack a mobile phone sim or even a sell phone itself. To get in touch with one of these firms, go here to learn more about them.
