Berlin  30-12-2009

A German computer scientist speaking at the ‘Chaos Communication Congress’ in Berlin claims to have broken the secret algorithm – the encyrption code that keeps  billions of calls on mobile telephony hidden and unintelligible – for anyone other than the personalized user.

Mr Karsten Nohl, who has led a team working on cracking the code, said this proved that security for GSM – the most used mobile technology in the world, estimated at 80 percent of the entire world’s cell phones -was not adequate  [It does not affect phones operating with 3G encryption].

If used by informed programmers the encryption codes could allow private individuals to listen to other peoples’ personal phone conversations – something presently only being done on a large scale by most Western government intelligence agencies.

This comes at a time when hackers have been trying to compel the mobile phone industry into strengthening their security – and pointing out the widespread vulnerability of so-called fail-proof systems. 
There is a widespread fear that this technology needed to hack into GSM phones may rapidly become easily accessible and affordable for anyone with some skilled computer knowledge or background.
 
However, the GSM Association, who are responsible internationally for the medium of networks in which its phones operate – and  which originally created the code –  says its technology has been unaffected and not yet been attacked successfully.

The GSMA will meet in February 2010 where it is expected to review many of its in-place security measures, some of which are already 21 years old.