Can someone hear you now?
This news is unsettling:
"Computer security researchers say that the GSM phones used by the majority of the world's mobile-phone users can be listened in on with just a few thousand dollars worth of hardware and some free open-source tools," PC World reports.
And those researchers, PC World adds, have put online much of the information they've developed about how to do the hacking.
The news may not be quite as disturbing as it sounds at first, though. Richi Jennings at Computer World's IT Blogwatch has collected several related postings. One of those, by Kelly Hodgkins at BGR (Boy Genius Report), offers this:
Before everybody panics, it is important to point out that the GSM algorithm that was cracked was the older and less secure 64-bit A5/1 algorithm, not the newer 128-bit A5/3 algorithm. Unfortunately, GSM carriers have been slow to adopt this new 128-bit encryption standard but Nohl's disclosure may be the kick in the butt these lazy carriers need to beef up their security.
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