GSM Encryption Code Cracked, More Nude Photos Of Paris Hilton Sure To Surface
A group of hackers at the Chaos Communication Congress this week were told by German software engineer Karsten Nohl that he had cracked the encryption code used to protect GSM phone calls, leaving 80% of the worlds cell phone population susceptible to hacked calls.
While the news may scare some users, the New York Times, quoted a GSM Association spokesperson who basically laughed at the news, pointing out that the actual process needed for snooping purposes is extremely complex even if users read and understood the entire codebook for the hack which is now available online.
While the GSM association may be shrugging off the crack, other organizations disagree with the complexity needed. According to Mashable.
“experts disagree, saying the crack now puts mobile interception of the majority of non-3G cellphone calls within reach of “any reasonable well-funded criminal organization.” Simon Bransfield-Garth, CEO of London-based Cellcrypt, said the net effect of Nohl and the company’s work would likely “reduce the time to break a GSM call from weeks to hours.”
The crack, which penetrates the standard 64-bit system used by many providers may push networks into more quickly adapting the A5/3 128-bit standard which has been available since 2007, but has largely been ignored by wireless carriers.
According to Nohl, his motives were pure, he simply wanted to show the vulnerabilities in the current 64 bit system so carriers would move quickly to adopt better practices that are already available.
I actually agree with Nohl’s methods, but only because he knew that a better, adoptable standard, was available and ready to be implemented by those companies that haven’t done so up until this point.
What do you think? Were Nohl’s white hat tactics a blessing in disguise or a threat to customers?
