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GSM mobile security is cracked

http://technology.news.com.au/techno/4221778.htm

GSM mobile security is cracked
By DAN TEBBUTT

22jun99

DIGITAL mobile phone users could soon face the threat of eavesdropping, following a breakthrough reverse engineering effort in the United States.

Three California researchers say they have cloned the secret encryption method used to secure Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications.

Research leader Marc Briceno predicted unscrambling software could appear before the end of the year, following academic papers studying possible faults in the A5/1 over-the-air voice privacy algorithm.

This standard is used in nearly all digital mobile phones in Australia.

Inherent flaws in the security technology suggested special cracking hardware devices could unscramble GSM conversations within seconds, according to Mr Briceno, director of the US-based Smartcard Developers Association.

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