How old is your sim card. Could it be hacked.

[Crazee 204]

Just read this article:

Millions of cellphone Sim cards have a digital flaw and are vulnerable to hacking attacks, a German security researcher says. Karsten Nohl, head of Security Research Labs in Berlin, said he has found a way to capture some Sims' digital keys by sending them a special text message and the technique could allow a hacker to listen in on calls or even steal cash. The potential flaw exists in million of older Sim cards using an older encryption standard, he said.

Sim cards -- for Subscriber Identity Module -- serve as a security gateway, authenticating a user's identity on their cellular provider's network. The also store text messages, contacts, and details used by some mobile applications, including some payment and banking services. The authentication code of some older Sim cards can be discovered by sending a text message to a phone that masquerades as a communication from the user's cellular provider, Nohl said.

That authentication code is encrypted, but many older Sims used a 1970s-era coding system called Digital Encryption Standard, once thought secure but capable of being cracked "within 2 minutes on a standard computer," he said. "Sim cards generate all the keys you use to encrypt your calls, your SMS and your Internet traffic," Nohl told the BBC. "If someone can capture the encrypted data plus have access to your Sim card, they can decrypt it."

About an eighth of all Sim cards may be vulnerable to a hack attack, Nohl said, representing between 500 million to 750 million devices.

Might be getting a new card in the near future as mines about 10 years old, if not older.

[Santiago 64]

Recently got a new phone but I dont know if the SIM is new. Have to check it out

[narcolepsy 581]

Years old is this news. Surprised it's just hitting the mainstream. People have been doing this for upwards of 3-4 years.

[TreeFitty 2631]

Security features that are years and years old aren't very secure anymore? I thought all those updates to firewalls were just to fix spelling mistakes...

[DuPz0r 5361]

I got a new phone a year ago, with a new numb0r. I think your service provider should send you new sims at least every 5 years to avoid this though, like what they do with bank cards.

[Mercy 30]

Now most phones have nano SIM cards so you'll probably have to update them for that anyway.

[cuda 939]

They can have access to my stuff, I don't care - I don't make transactions via my phone. So enjoy my contacts and the pictures of my penis.

[Massacre 7646]

^ I keep nine photos of my penis on my phone at all times, just in case someone does try to hack me.

[cuda 939]

Yeah, I have it as my wallpaper. It's my dick, so like, no homo.

If you have a picture of your dick as your wallpaper, it's not gay. It's like, I don't have a problem kissing a girl that was having sexual interplay with my penis in her mouth, unless I haven't showered for like 2 days, I wouldn't kiss her if that was the case.

But yeah, no homo.

edit:

I think the logic above is flawless.

[Mercy 30]

^ I keep nine photos of my penis on my phone at all times, just in case someone does try to hack me.

And I only have three of them? I need the rest!!

[Ouroboros 22]

6 months old.