Global Espionage Exploiting Mobile Networks Uncovered

• •Commercial surveillance vendors exploit mobile network vulnerabilities for tracking.
• •Two sophisticated surveillance campaigns identified, involving multiple countries.
• •SS7 protocol weaknesses allow unauthorized location tracking without user consent.

A research team from Hasso Plattner Institute and University of Toronto revealed that commercial surveillance vendors exploit vulnerabilities in mobile networks to track individuals. Their report, 'Bad Connection,' identifies two sophisticated surveillance campaigns utilizing the SS7 protocol, which lacks authentication in 2G and 3G networks. The study analyzed firewall data and discovered simultaneous location-tracking requests from operators in nine countries, indicating a large-scale operation. Additionally, invisible SMS messages targeting SIM cards were found to be used for extracting location data. The findings highlight the significant risks posed by these vulnerabilities, which remain largely unaddressed in many mobile networks.