Techdirt. Stories filed under "gsm" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "gsm"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:15:00 PST GSM Encryption Cracked... GSMA's First Response? That's Illegal! Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091229/1044447528.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091229/1044447528.shtml cracked the encryption used to keep GSM mobile phone calls private. It looks like he and some collaborators used a brute force method. He admits that it requires about $30,000 worth of equipment to de-crypt calls in real-time, but that's pocket change for many of the folks who would want to make use of this. What's much more interesting (and worrisome) is the GSM Association's (GSMA) response to this news:
"This is theoretically possible but practically unlikely," said Claire Cranton, an association spokeswoman. She said no one else had broken the code since its adoption. "What he is doing would be illegal in Britain and the United States. To do this while supposedly being concerned about privacy is beyond me."
There are so many things wrong with that statement it's hard to know where to begin. First, claiming it's "theoretically possible, but practically unlikely" means that it's very, very possible and quite likely. To then say that no one else had broken the code since its adoption fifteen years ago is almost certainly false. What she means is that no one else who's broken the code has gone public with it -- probably because it's much more lucrative keeping that info to themselves. Next, blaming the messenger by announcing that cracking the code is "illegal in Britain and the United States" is not what anyone who uses a GSM phone should want to hear. They should want to know how the GSMA is responding and fixing the problem -- not how they're responding to the public release. Finally, if it's "beyond" her why cracking a code used for private conversations and showing that it's insecure is all about being concerned about "privacy" -- she should be looking for a different job. This has everything to do with privacy. The GSMA claims that the code is secure for private conversations, and this group of folks is showing that it is not. That seems to have everything to do with privacy.

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]]> yeah,-because-the-eavesdroppers-care http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20091229/1044447528 Thu, 6 Dec 2007 08:16:00 PST AT&T Does Nothing, Convinces Reporter It Has Now 'Opened' Its Network Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071206/030232.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071206/030232.shtml "open" its network some people noticed very quickly that what Verizon Wireless was announcing didn't sound any different from what GSM operators, like AT&T and T-Mobile already had. It was just that the GSM operators hadn't come up with the PR gimmick to call it "open." Since they already had it though, it didn't take a genius to figure out that it wouldn't be long before they declared their networks open as well. And, that appears to be exactly what AT&T is doing -- but somehow, it appears that AT&T's marketers have convinced a USA Today reporter that it's somehow changed its policies and is "flinging" its network "wide open." The article starts off breathlessly announcing that "starting immediately" people can use any device on AT&T's network. Of course, the reason it's "starting immediately" is because, um, you've been able to do that ever since they launched their GSM network years ago. Basically, absolutely nothing happened here except that AT&T's marketing crew declared that AT&T's network is now open, and convinced USA Today to report it as if it were a big deal. If there was any change at all within AT&T, it's that retail store employees are now supposed to admit that you can use other devices on the network, rather than pretending you can't. Not quite as exciting as "flinging the network open," though.

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]]> nice-trick http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20071206/030232