Category Archives: SS7 Protocol

Researchers suggest 25 countries are using a kind of mobile spyware that monitors texts, location

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A private surveillance firm that exploits mobile network vulnerabilities to spy on calls, texts and location data is doing business with at least 25 governments around the globe, including some with histories of human rights abuses, concludes a report released Tuesday. The findings from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab scrutinize the work of the company Circles, which is a sister firm of the Israeli software surveillance broker NSO Group. Human rights activists frequently criticize NSO Group for selling its equipment to repressive regimes, a charge it rejects, even as it is the subject of a lawsuit from Facebook, which alleges that attackers used NSO Group tech to spy on thousands of WhatsApp users. The countries Citizen Lab identified as “likely” customers of Circles: Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, Serbia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe. […]

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User data and private messages exposed in Reddit breach

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Reddit, one of the world’s most popular websites and the self-proclaimed “front page of the internet,” was hacked in June, exposing some user data, internal logs, source code and other files, according to a post published to the platform Wednesday.  Chief Technology Officer Christopher Slowe wrote on Reddit’s front page that an attacker compromised the accounts of several employees between June 14 and June 18 using an SMS intercept. The technique involves intercepting the two-factor authentication code that a website or app texts to a user when that person is logging on. “Already having our primary access points for code and infrastructure behind strong authentication requiring two factor authentication (2FA), we learned that SMS-based authentication is not nearly as secure as we would hope,” read the post from Slowe, who goes by the username u/KeyserSosa. “We point this out to encourage everyone here to move to token-based 2FA.” With SMS codes and passwords […]

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4G is vulnerable to same types of attacks as 3G, researchers say

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The 4G wireless telecommunications protocol is vulnerable to the same types of remote exploitation as its 3G predecessor, new research emphasizes. As with the flaw-ridden protocol underlying 3G, the 4G protocol is susceptible to attacks that disclose mobile users’ information or impose a denial of service, according to a report from mobile-security company Positive Technologies. Security researchers have long warned that spies or hackers could exploit the protocol supporting 3G — known as Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) — to intercept or track call data. The move from 3G to 4G, and the latter’s Diameter protocol, was supposed to mitigate some vulnerabilities, but security experts also have made clear that Diameter is no safeguard against hacking. While the new research indicates 4G is vulnerable to a smaller scope of attacks than 3G, it shows that attackers could shift a user’s device to 3G mode to exploit the less-secure SS7. Further, most mobile […]

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DHS: ‘Nefarious actors’ could be exploiting SS7 flaw

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The Department of Homeland Security has received reports that “nefarious actors” may be exploiting cellular communications vulnerabilities to spy on Americans, according to Chris Krebs, a senior DHS official. Cybersecurity experts have warned that longstanding vulnerabilities in the telephony protocol known as Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) could allow spying on callers and interception of their data. Krebs revealed the possible exploitation of SS7 in a May 22 letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that also said DHS had “received reports from third parties about the unauthorized use” of mobile surveillance devices. The devices in question, known as Stingrays or IMSI catchers, imitate a cell tower to capture caller location and other associated data. They have been used by U.S. law enforcement for years, but their use for foreign espionage and hacking in the U.S. has been a source of speculation. From January to November 2017, DHS deployed sensors in Washington, […]

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Wyden calls for FCC investigation into cell-phone tracking used by law enforcement

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Democratic Senator Ron Wyden has asked the Federal Communications Commission to investigate revelations that U.S. law enforcement officials have access to a tracking service that can geolocate almost any phone in the country. The tracking service provided by Securus Technologies accesses location data from big wireless carriers like AT&T and Verizon to pinpoint phone users, and a former Missouri sheriff allegedly used the service to track other officers without court orders, the New York Times reported. A spokesperson for Securus, a Texas-based provider of prison phone services, told The Times that the firm requires customers to submit legal evidence, such as an affidavit or warrant, that the surveillance is authorized. But in his letter to the FCC, Wyden said Securus employees confirmed to his office that the firm “takes no steps to verify” that those documents legally authorize surveillance. The Oregon senator called Securus’s vetting process “nothing more than the legal equivalent of […]

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Here’s How Hackers Can Hijack Your Online Bitcoin Wallets

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Researchers have been warning for years about critical issues with the Signaling System 7 (SS7) that could allow hackers to listen in private phone calls and read text messages on a potentially vast scale, despite the most advanced encryption used by c… Continue reading Here’s How Hackers Can Hijack Your Online Bitcoin Wallets→

Wyden demands answers from telecom giants, NSA over SS7 vulnerabilities

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Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden is demanding to know how America’s largest telecommunications companies plan to stop hackers from exploiting vulnerabilities in an outdated mobile-data transfer framework that remains fundamental to how cellphones function. Wyden sent a series of letters Thursday to the chief executives of AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile to learn about their efforts to mitigate risks associated with weak points in Signaling System No 7, or SS7, a set of protocols that allow for different mobile phone networks to connect to one another. In addition, the Oregon senator sent a letter to the NSA director, Adm. Michael Rogers, requesting information about past attempts by adversaries to hack into SS7 for the purpose of spying on Americans, including military personnel, civilians and companies. The Daily Beast was the first to report on Wyden’s multiple letters. There are well-known security issues with SS7, including reported cases of intelligence agencies exploiting vulnerabilities in […]

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