GSM Encryption for Cellphones Cracked

An encryption expert demonstrated the ease of cracking the GSM algorithm at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin. This means that anyone can now intercept your cellular signals and decrypt them.

From the Financialtimes here:

Computer hackers this week said they had cracked and published the secret code that protects 80 per cent of the world’s mobile phones. The move will leave more than 3bn people vulnerable to having their calls intercepted, and could force mobile phone operators into a costly upgrade of their networks.

Karsten Nohl, a German encryption expert, said he had organised the hack to demonstrate the weaknesses of the security measures protecting the global system for mobile communication (GSM) and to push mobile operators to improve their systems.

“This vulnerability should have been fixed 15 years ago. People should now try it out at home and see how vulnerable their calls are.”

The GSM Association, the industry body for mobile phone operators, which devised the A5/1 encryption algorithm 21 years ago, said they were monitoring the situation closely.

3G wireless algorithms are encrypted differently and are not vulnerable to the hack.