According to a German security expert, ageing SIM cards may be hacked by cyber criminals who could end up stealing your personal information or even record your calls.
Mobile operators are working to rectify a security flaw that could potentially see cyber gangs hacking into and obtaining information from old SIM cards. The flaw was first spotted by German cryptographer Karsten Nohl.
“Give me any phone number and there is some chance I will, a few minutes later, be able to remotely control this SIM card and even make a copy of it,” Mr Nohl told reporters yesterday.
So how could this affect mobile phone users? According to Forbes.com, “The two-part flaw, based on an old security standard and badly configured code, could allow hackers to remotely infect a SIM with a virus that sends premium text messages (draining a mobile phone bill), surreptitiously re-direct and record calls, and — with the right combination of bugs — carry out payment system fraud.”
Nohl says that mobile phone encryption standards ‘vary widely’ between countries, but he still estimates that roughly an eight of the world’s SIM cards could be hacked. That’s over half a billion devices…
