Mobile security cracked open

A pair of security researchers have demonstrated an eavesdropping toolkit that highlights potential holes in many parts of the most widely used mobile technology.

Using four cheap Motorola telephones and open source software, Karsten Nohl and Sylvain Munaut are able to eavesdrop on mobile calls and texts made on any GSM network. 

In a demonstration at the Chaos Computer Club Congress (CCC) in Berlin, the pair took attendees through the layers of the snoop.  Starting from locating a particular phone to seizing its unique ID, then leap-frogging from that to getting hold of data swapped between a handset and a base station as calls are made and texts sent.

Mr Nohl said the motivation for carrying out the research was to create awareness around the problem and perhaps prompt operators to improve security.  He acknowledged that a few simple steps could make it much harder for potential eavesdroppers.