

Last year, hackers exploited SS7 to grab text message-based two-factor authentication tokens to break into the bank accounts of mobile service provider O2 customers. Sometimes the hackers bribe workers inside telecoms such as T-Mobile and AT&T to give them control over a target’s phone number.Īttacks against SS7, a protocol and related network used particularly for mobile roaming, have trickled down from nation states to cybercriminals. The hacker then receives password reset text messages and two-factor authentication codes, letting them break into banking services and other sensitive online accounts. Hackers have targeted at least thousands of people with a technique known as SIM-jacking, in which the attackers call up the victim's telecom, and trick the company into porting the victim’s number over to the hacker’s own SIM card. It’s using an iPod touch, which only works over Wi-Fi, and here’s how you can set one up as your phone substitute.Īt the end, you’ll be able to send messages securely through apps such as Signal, protect your traffic with your own VPN, and, if you like, make calls to normal phones over the internet as well.
