COMPROMISED SLOTS

SMARTPHONES HAVE BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR LIVES TRANSFORMING THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE, WORK AND PLAY. HOWEVER, IT ALSO PROVIDED CYBERCRIMINALS WITH MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO ACCESS OUR MOST SENSITIVE DATA. IN THE RECENT PAST, A NEW KIND OF THREAT THAT TARGETS MOBILE DEVICES BY HIJACKING THEIR SIM CARDS ROSE TO NOTORIETY. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT DANIEL BARDSLEY REPORTS.

- Daniel Bardsley

Predictions indicate that worldwide smartphone sales will increase in 2020 after three consecutive years of contraction.

With the roll-out of 5G helping to drive increases, the International Data Corporation expects a 1.5 percent increase on 2019, with global shipments expected to reach 1.54 billion units in 2023.

That works out at about one smartphone sold for every five people on the planet in a single year, which is indication enough – were it needed – of the ubiquity of mobile technology.

Indeed, any quick walk down the pavement is likely to involve passing people whose eyes are fixed on their devices instead of what is in front of them, vividly demonstrating that many of us partly live life through our phones.

Whether it’s sending emails, surfing the net, playing games or finding out what our friends have posted on Facebook, the mobile is an essential part of everyday life. However, this brings with it risks.

Mobile phones are, increasingly, used to confirm our identity and, through two-factor authentication (which often involves the sending of text messages containing passcodes to our device), they allow us to access bank accounts and other sensitive accounts, such as those for cryptocurrencies or tax payments.

So just imagine the problems when a mobile number is hijacked by fraudsters.

In SIM swapping attacks, fraudsters take over a mobile phone number so that an organisation that sends a passcode out for verification sends it not to the correct phone but to the fraudster’s phone.