Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Tapping Mobile Phones - Try To Stay Focused

Drudge links to a FT.com story headlined Secret mobile phone code cracked with his own headline reading Secret mobile phone code cracked; Billions vulnerable to having calls intercepted…

The accompanying story notes that “hackers,”

“had cracked and published the secret code that protects 80 per cent of the world’s mobile phones. The move will leave more than 3bn people vulnerable to having their calls intercepted, and could force mobile phone operators into a costly upgrade of their networks.”

Personally, I would not concern myself so much with the alleged hackers, as these individuals, I think, are simply displaying their prowess at coding, and their prowess may end up protecting your mobile phone security in the long run.  Your concern and focus regarding your mobile phone security should be directed elsewhere.

If you thought that the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping was limited to AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, think again.

While these household names of the telecom industry almost certainly helped the government to illegally snoop on their customers, statements by a number of legal experts suggest that collaboration with the NSA may run far deeper into the wireless phone industry. With over 3,000 wireless companies operating in the United States, the majority of industry-aided snooping likely occurs under the radar, with the dirty-work being handled by companies that most consumers have never heard of.

A recent article in the London Review of Books revealed that a number of private companies now sell off-the-shelf data-mining solutions to government spies interested in analyzing mobile-phone calling records and real-time location information. These companies include ThorpeGlen, VASTech, Kommlabs, and Aqsacom—all of which sell “passive probing” data-mining services to governments around the world.

Exclusive: Widespread cell phone location snooping by NSA?

Do you understand this?

Posted by John Venlet on 12/30 at 08:44 AM
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