Hacker Breaks GSM Mobile Phone Code

December 29, 2009

A German computer scientist working with a team of experts has broken the code used to secure about 80% of the world's mobile phones. But the group responsible for protecting GSM communications said Tuesday the feat is a "long way from being a practical attack."

Researcher Karsten Nohl, a former graduate student at the University of Virginia, revealed his decryption methods this week at the Chaos Communication Conference in Berlin, the largest hackers conference in Europe. Nohl and a team of two dozen other experts worked for five months to crack the security algorithm that protects Global System for Mobile communications.

What does it mean? Well, this can be bad for users which someone can purchase tools on the market and be able to listen to your conversations.

Details:

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/185552/gsm_encryption_cracked_showing_its_age.html