You may know that your smartphone operating system needs a regular update to protect against security gap.
When focusing a bit on the last electronic attacks;We will find that most of them target smartphones, from targeting operating systems, through application stores, and even targeting SIM cards in which the phone number is used to control the devices and associated accounts..
Today, we will review some of the methods through which the infiltrators can use SIM cards to access the devices, and how to maintain their safety:
Security researchers at Adaptivemobile announced last September that a new security vulnerability called Simjacker, which targets SIM cards, has been discovered..
Pirates sends a short SMS text message to your phone that contains a specific type of software similar to spyware, if you open it you will give instructions for the contact card to control the device to implement some orders such as: spying on calls, messages, and even tracking the geographical location.
Most of the SIM cards that have been released since early 2000, including ESIM cards, contain the list of mobile network operator. This list includes tasks such as: checking the balance, recharge, and technical support.
This list is primarily an application - or more accurate.
One of the apps included in STK is called [Email Protected] Browser, which is used to display web pages in a specific format and pages on the interior network of the telecommunications company, for example: it can provide information about your balance.
The problem is that it has not occurred since 2009, and although its functions in modern devices are performed by other programs, it is still used actively, or at least still installed on hundreds of millions of SIM cards.
The researchers assert that this loophole is a private company that works with governments to monitor individuals, and since the penetration of Simjacker does not depend on the operating system;All kinds of phones are at risk, including Android and iPhone devices.
Researchers have not identified specific telecom companies that sell SIM cards, installed on this application, but they claim that more than a billion people in less than 30 countries use it, mainly in the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.
To protect your phone, you can call its communications company, and check its use of network filters that prevent SMS messages that carry Simjacker.
Deceptions known as the SIM - or what is known in the circles specialized as SIM SWAP, or SIM Splitting - have spread in which the phone number is replaced to the infiltrator device to control all your associated accounts.
In August 2019;Jack Dormy, the founder and CEO of Twitter, presented this penetration, as infiltrators used this technology to reach his phone number, which allowed them to create tweets via SMS text messages and send them from the number to his Twitter account.
In order to make a SIM card, the infiltrator first communicates with your service provider, pretends to be you, and asks for an alternative SIM card.They will say that they want to upgrade to a new device and therefore they need a new SIM card, then they can steal your phone number and link it to their own devices.
Once the process is done;It will be canceled for your real SIM card with your provider, and you will stop working.Hence the infiltrator will be able to control phone calls, messages, and binary approval requests that are sent to your phone number.This means that they can have enough information to access your bank accounts, e -mail, etc..
To protect against switching your SIM card, finding information about you must be difficult for infiltrators, infiltrators will use the data they find about you online such as: date of birth, family names, and address to persuade customer service that you are the speaker, so be sure to do your personal nucleus everywhereon the Internet.
There is another way to protect against switching a SIM card, which is caution against deception methods, as infiltrators may try to communicate with you and defraud you to get more information they can use to copy your SIM card, so do not give all your personal data to anyone who communicates with you.
To protect from SIM attacks, you must also provide some protection for the SIM card, and the most important security measure you can implement is to add the PIN icon to your SIM card.In this way, if anyone wants to make changes on your card, it needs a PIN code.
But before you prepare a SIM card lock, you should make sure you know the PIN number provided by the network provider.Then go to the SIM card settings on your phone, and activate the code with the symbol.
