There are many ways through which Big Brother watches you. The network of security cameras and CCTVs in use today provide law enforcement authorities with a worthy weapon against would-be terrorists and criminals. But this same network that provides “eyes” for the law can also be used to peek into your everyday activities, even private moments shared between two unsuspecting individuals. Another way is by capturing your cellphone calls with the help of high-tech and expensive (professional grade) IMSI catchers that can record incoming and outgoing calls, pull down data from your phones, and just about everything else you thought should have been kept private. What a scary thought, no?
As a probable victim of the last administration’s paranoia with anyone suspected of wanting them to leave quietly or in any other way possible (roughly about 70-80% of the population), I knew when my phone conversations (land lines and mobile phones) were being recorded for posterity. So, I would casually mention this to persons I would be talking to and ask them to say “Hi” to the snoops snooping around. I guess someone never really quite forgave me for having agreed to help put together the campaign strategy of the late FPJ, and for having worked in the campaign of this really decent man (one who was a lot better than the alternative). But that is another story for another day.
Comes now the poor man’s version of those advanced cellphone call interceptors, one invented by Chris Paget. Mr. Paget gave a proof of concept demonstration that showed how easy it is to intercept your supposedly private calls. Of course, since his system is super cheap — about $1,500 vs over $ 1M for the IMSI catchers – it does have certain limitations. However, over time, Mr Paget promises to iron these out at a minimal increase in cost.
What his system does is mimic the role a normal GSM cellphone tower performs, by using stronger signal than a normal tower emits, thus causing outbound calls to pass through his system. Even encrypted calls are not safe, since his system tricks phones into disabling encryption protocols before they calls are routed through as normal VOIP. Presently, he can only capture 2G calls, but he says that he can disable 3G calls by creating noise that will “force” them to translate into 2G calls, thereby going through his system. He broadcasts at about 25MW, much less than what a normal cellphone emits.
The system has to yet perfect a way to capture inbound calls or data, but one knows that this problem is already probably being worked on by either the enterprising hacker Paget or by others of his breed. Knowing this, will we ever be sure of having secure phone conversations? What will stop the owners of a large establishment, for example, from investing in this cheaper system, ostensibly to know if a criminal or terrorist is about to perform a nefarious deed? Certainly, it will make one more circumspect in whispering sweet nothings to someone other than one’s legitimate partner or spouse!
Article source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/297582/intercepting-cellphone-calls-made-easy-and-cheap
Category: Cell Phone Security