Hackers could track you across the globe due to this worrying smartphone security flaw

Date:
Mon, 30 Oct 2023 20:50:06 +0000

Description:
Mobile communications are marred with flaws and no one seems to care, researchers warn.

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Hackers can use the technology that makes cellphone roaming possible to pinpoint user locations and track people around the world, a new report from University of Torontos Citizen Lab has claimed.

The researchers argue that the underlying technology is so full of holes that its practically inviting malicious actors to abuse it, which can be both illegal organizations or nation-states.

Foreign intelligence and security services, as well as private intelligence firms, often attempt to obtain location information, as do domestic state actors such as law enforcement, the paper reads. Notably, the methods available to law enforcement and intelligence services are similar to those used by the unlawful actors and enable them to obtain individuals geolocation information with high degrees of secrecy. IP Exchange

The vulnerability Citizen Labs researchers emphasized is in the IP Exchange (IPX), a network that helps telecom companies swap data about their
customers. As per the report, more than 750 mobile networks in almost 200 countries around the world use it. Furthermore, the companies can sell (and resell) access to the IPX, meaning the total number of users is probably
much, much larger.

None of this is visible to the end-user.

This isnt purely theoretical, either. Citizen Lab found multiple examples of how the networks been abused, from Vietnam, to the African continent. One particular case describes likely state-sponsored activity used to identify behavioral patterns of users in Saudi Arabia who were traveling to the United States.

The researchers didnt blame any one company or country, but rather said this is the fault of the entire telecommunications industry that lacks proper security standards, as well as legislators as theres an acute lack of legal
or regulatory consequences. More from TechRadar Pro Millions of Android
phones are shipping with malware already installed Here's a list of the best firewalls today These are the best malware removal tools around



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/hackers-could-track-you-across-the-glob e-due-to-this-worrying-smartphone-security-flaw


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