Researchers from University of Minnesota revealed some alarming results of their study: information regarding one’s location can be accessible to phone hackers via cellular networks.
Tracking a user’s location is important for mobile service providers to deliver efficient products and services to consumers. As an example, researcher Denis Foo Kune demonstrated, “An incoming voice call requires the network to locate that device so it can allocate the appropriate resources to handle the call.” Turns out, this is a vulnerability of the mobile network system, as phone hackers can access data gathered and tracked by a cell phone tower.
To prove their point, the researchers tracked the location of a number of mobile phone users on the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network, without them knowing.
The results pose security issues to mobile phone owners; for example, hackers will know whether a person is in a specific area or not using his mobile phone location information, increasing risks of break-ins and theft. People like protesters, police, and politicians can also be tracked using their mobile phone, exposing them to numerous threats.
via UM News
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