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Israeli Scientists Crack GSM Mobile Call Security |
zopps
Joined: Jul 13, 2003
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Israeli Scientists Crack GSM Mobile Call Security
Wed September 3, 2003 11:35 AM ET
By Albert Robinson
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - An Israeli scientist said on Wednesday his team had found a way to break into mobile phone calls on ubiquitous GSM networks, potentially allowing eavesdroppers to listen in on conversations and even take on a caller's identity.
The GSM Association, representing companies which depend on the world's largest mobile system, which is used by more than 860 million consumers in 197 countries, confirmed the security hole but said it would be expensive and complicated to exploit.
Professor Eli Biham of the Technion Institute in Haifa said he was shocked when doctoral student Elad Barkan told him he had found a fundamental error in the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) code.
"We can listen in to a call while it is still at the ringing stage and within a fraction of a second know everything about the user," Biham said. "Then we can listen in to the call."
"Using a special device it's possible to steal calls and impersonate callers in the middle of a call as it's happening," he said. GSM code writers made a mistake in giving high priority to call quality, correcting for noise and interference, and only then encrypting, Biham said.
Snooping on mobile calls was fairly simple with analog networks, but since the advent of digital technology like GSM in the early 1990s this has become much harder. Currently law enforcers and other government agencies can break into calls, only by using special equipment that starts at $250,000, said security expert Motti Golan, owner of Spy-Shop in Tel Aviv.
The new approach found by the Israeli scientists was different and could pose a threat, he said. "In the hands of terrorists this would be a disaster, but I don't see how they could get access to it," said Golan, a former police detective.
The researchers said they would help the GSM Association to fix the hole. The method will be patented and usage will be restricted to law enforcement agencies, Biham said.
HARD TO EXPLOIT
The GSM Association said the security holes in the GSM system stemmed from its development in the late 1980s when computing power was still limited, but that this particular gap could only be exploited with complex and expensive technology and that it would take a long time to target individual callers.
"This (technique) goes further than previous academic papers, (but) it is nothing new or surprising to the GSM community. The GSM Association believes that the practical implications of the paper are limited," it said in a statement.
GSM, or Global System for Mobile Communications, accounts for 72 percent of the world's digital mobile phone market and 70 percent of the global wireless market, the GSM association said.
The GSM Association said an upgrade had been made available in July 2002 to patch the vulnerability in the A5/2 encryption algorithm.
The researchers claimed they also managed to overcome the new encryption system that was put in place as a response to previous attacks, Biham said.
They have sent a copy of their research to the GSM Association to help them correct the problem, and the method is being patented and will be used only by law enforcement agencies, he said.
Biham and the GSM Association said the problem would not affect third-generation (3G) phones since engineers had replaced the encryption, security mechanisms and protocols with 3G.
The GSM Association also said any attack would have to be an active one, requiring the attacker to transmit distinctive data over the air to masquerade as a GSM base station. An attacker would also have to physically stand between the caller and the base station to intercept the call.
Transmitting on an operator's radio frequencies is illegal in most countries.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=3380775&src=eDialog/GetContent§ion=news |
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Novell
Joined: May 19, 2003
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From: Malaysia
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Great article. Thanks for sharing. |
Vlammetje
Joined: Mar 01, 2003
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I can think of a few governments who might abuse this 
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SonyBoy
Joined: Aug 31, 2002
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From: NY, USA
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The Israeli scientists from the most respectful university here, said they'll only share this information with the World Wide Cell companies and official security officers only.
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Carlsb3rg
Joined: Jun 07, 2003
Posts: 400
From: Kuwait
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Don't forget the Mossad. |
Vlammetje
Joined: Mar 01, 2003
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Quote:
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On 2003-09-04 13:06:07, SonyBoy wrote:
[....]official security officers only.
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My point exactly! 
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pleber
Joined: Jul 22, 2003
Posts: 200
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The Israelis are always ahead of the world when it comes to technology, both civil and military. The also have the best fight jets in the world... US Design, with Israeli technology in the cockpit. |
macki_c
Joined: Jul 09, 2003
Posts: 60
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yeah like that bloody massive wall
high tech... |
ppcrockar
Joined: Mar 04, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Sweden
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Maybe Israel should focus more on making peace than on cracking GSM security... just my 2 cents 
[ This Message was edited by: ppcrockar on 2003-09-04 13:58 ] |
pleber
Joined: Jul 22, 2003
Posts: 200
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It’s not Israel that's blowing up buses full of civilians… That’s what broke the peace. At least when Israel act militarily, they act on terrorists, not civilians.
If that GSM hack could enable Mossad to eavesdrop on a terrorist, then I’d say it’s exactly what they should be doing.
Just my two cents
[ This Message was edited by: pleber on 2003-09-04 14:15 ] |
ppcrockar
Joined: Mar 04, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Sweden
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@ pleber
True, but on the other hand Israel isn't exactly a saint, and is using its military for every little minor incident. You could argue that Israel is no better than the terrorists. And in other countries terroists are not hunted down and bombed by military, but given a trial and sent to prison. Violence makes more violence. |
pleber
Joined: Jul 22, 2003
Posts: 200
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You call blowing up a bus full of people and killing 21 on them "minor incident"????? Your joking, right?
"Israel no better than the terrorists"? No, you couldn't argue that at all. Israel do not target innocent people. They do not bomb civilian buses, or pool halls, or restaurants. Israel does not fire missiles randomly into Gaza etc.
Lets take a look at the country I live in. It adopted a very soft approach to terrorists. It let them all out of prison as long as they stopped fighting and gave up their arms. (I live in N.Ireland by the way).
Let me tell you a little true story.
Two "Loyalists" gave a young catholic a lift who was thumbing a lift home from work. They took him and beat him and fed his body through a farm machine.
These men are now out of prison thanks to "other countries terrorists are not hunted down and bombed by military, but given a trial and sent to prison" and the Good Friday agreement. They did less that 3 years in prison. They get to go home and live near their victims mother and family. Does that sound like a good idea to you?
Another story.
There was a young British soldier fatally wounded, lying crying in a woman’s front garden... (Wounded by the IRA). That woman put a pillow under his head.
Because of this act of compassion, the IRA kidnapped this woman, tortured her and shot her in the head. She was a widow and her TEN children stayed quiet about it for 6 MONTHS hoping the IRA would give their mother back.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3196779.stm)
These men (and women) are all free and walking around. If fact, Sinn Fein, the Political front for the IRA, and now in government.
That’s what comes from "other countries terrorists are not hunted down and bombed by military, but given a trial and sent to prison".
That is just two examples of HUNDREDS of evil deeds carried out by BOTH sides of terrorists.
Israel may be tough of the people that murdering her citizens, and because of that peace is harder to achieve. But I'd rather have no peace than murders walking the streets and holding political office.
At least when a Israeli mother loses a child to terrorism, she knows that Israel is going to do all in it power to get justice, unlike most (All?) other countries. There is a limit to how much you should pay for peace.
...Another 2 cents...
[ This Message was edited by: pleber on 2003-09-04 15:02 ] |
yusufl
Joined: Dec 13, 2002
Posts: 138
From: South Africa
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You are right they have one of the most advanced militiries in the world and now with the GSM snooping not only can their fancy jets kill the poor Palestenians easy but they can even snoop on their cellular calls. |
Vlammetje
Joined: Mar 01, 2003
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From: Den Haag
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Guys... there are no rights, only wrongs in the history of Israel. There is no such thing as an easy solution and there will not be peace for a long long time to come I'm afraid.
If an Israeli mother loses her child in a terrorist attack, a missile will fly into a palestinian town and kill 'terrorists' as well as whoever happens to be near the place of impact and a palestinian woman in turn loses her child.
This will lead to more violence, which will in trun lead to more violence.
The only way to ever end this, is when ppl everywhere start to realize that the question is not: who is wrong and how can we retaliate?, but only if all parties are willing to give what it takes to make it right.
Now back to topic: eavesdropping into mobile phone conversations: I was thinking not so much of Israel as I was thinking of the US government  but let's not get into that.
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pleber
Joined: Jul 22, 2003
Posts: 200
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yusufl
The only "poor Palestenians" Israel targets are terrorists. You know.. them people that murder innocent people... fly planes into buildings... etc?
I reconise that some innocent Palistiniens are also killed in this fighting, and Israel should do more to stop this, but the majority of these are throwing stones and getting inbetween Israeli and Hamas fighters. |
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Posted: 2003-09-04 02:12
