James Delahunty
10 Aug 2011 18:23
German group claim crack of widely used mobile encryption code.
A German newspaper has reported that a Berlin-based security firm has cracked the encryption code for some mobile devices that use the Internet with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) technology. The report claimed that the group discovered a way to read emails and observe Internet use of phones.
"With our technology we can capture GPRS data communications in a radius of 5 km," Karsten Nohl, head of Security Research Labs, is quoted as saying.
He said that phones using the UMTS standard are obviously safer, but the crack may have implications for industrial equipment, toll systems and other things that rely on GPRS technology. It is often the only type of connection available in remote areas.