Posted on 08/01/2010 4:08:56 PM PDT by PugetSoundSoldier
"A security researcher created a $1,500 cell phone base station kit (including a laptop and two RF antennas) that tricks cell phones into routing their outbound calls through his device, allowing someone to intercept even encrypted calls in the clear. Most of the price is for the laptop he used to operate the system. The device tricks the phones into disabling encryption and records call details and content before they are routed on their proper way through voice-over-IP. The low-cost, home-brewed device ... mimics more expensive devices already used by intelligence and law enforcement agencies — called IMSI catchers — that can capture phone ID data and content. The devices essentially spoof a legitimate GSM tower and entice cell phones to send them data by emitting a signal that's stronger than legitimate towers in the area. Encrypted calls are not protected from interception because the rogue tower can simply turn it off. Although the GSM specifications say that a phone should pop up a warning when it connects to a station that does not have encryption, SIM cards disable that setting so that alerts are not displayed. Even though the GSM spec requires it, this is a deliberate choice on the cell phone makers, Paget said."
(Excerpt) Read more at mobile.slashdot.org ...
I think it's more like it's about time somebody spilled the beans.
Add to that the A5/1 and A5/2 encryption used in most GSM phones is easily broken these days, and GSM has serious problems. IIRC, A5/3 is on pretty shaky ground too.
Thank the French. They didn’t want civilians using high-strength encryption, so had the standard made purposely weak. France had some pretty draconian laws against private use of encryption until the late 90s.
Yours is another example of market to market comparisons. We switched TO AT&T 8 years ago due to Alltel (a company many equated with rural service) not servicing the rural area we were in very well. AT&T was FAR better in that circumstance.
Still today, AT&T is still the better carrier (though Verizon is finally starting to get serious around here).
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