Comment I wonder (Score 1) 104
I wonder - will it run Flash?
Submission + - BlackBerry Services To Be Halted In UAE (bloomberg.com)
WrongSizeGlass writes: Bloomberg is reporting RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger, e-mail and Web browsing services will be suspended in the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East’s business hub, starting October 11th due to security concerns. RIM faces similar restrictions in India. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement on state-run Emirates News Agency. “In their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the U.A.E.,” it said. A senior Indian government official said, "Though RIM has been fully cooperating ever since the matter was taken up with it in 2008, reports of the company's move to set up a server in China forced us to look at it in a different way."
Submission + - Hacker builds $1,500 cell-phone tapping device (wired.com)
suraj.sun writes: A security researcher created a $1,500 cell phone base station kit (including a laptop and two RF antennas) that tricks cell phones into routing their outbound calls through his device, allowing someone to intercept even encrypted calls in the clear. Most of the price is for the laptop he used to operate the system.
The device tricks the phones into disabling encryption and records call details and content before they are routed on their proper way through voice-over-IP.
The low-cost, home-brewed device, developed by researcher Chris Paget, mimics more expensive devices already used by intelligence and law enforcement agencies — called IMSI catchers — that can capture phone ID data and content. The devices essentially spoof a legitimate GSM tower and entice cell phones to send them data by emitting a signal that's stronger than legitimate towers in the area.
Encrypted calls are not protected from interception because the rogue tower can simply turn it off. Although the GSM specifications say that a phone should pop up a warning when it connects to a station that does not have encryption, SIM cards disable that setting so that alerts are not displayed. Even though the GSM spec requires it, this is a deliberate choice on the cell phone makers, Paget said.
Wired: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/intercepting-cell-phone-calls/
The device tricks the phones into disabling encryption and records call details and content before they are routed on their proper way through voice-over-IP.
The low-cost, home-brewed device, developed by researcher Chris Paget, mimics more expensive devices already used by intelligence and law enforcement agencies — called IMSI catchers — that can capture phone ID data and content. The devices essentially spoof a legitimate GSM tower and entice cell phones to send them data by emitting a signal that's stronger than legitimate towers in the area.
Encrypted calls are not protected from interception because the rogue tower can simply turn it off. Although the GSM specifications say that a phone should pop up a warning when it connects to a station that does not have encryption, SIM cards disable that setting so that alerts are not displayed. Even though the GSM spec requires it, this is a deliberate choice on the cell phone makers, Paget said.
Wired: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/intercepting-cell-phone-calls/
Submission + - Verizon Changing Users Router Passwords 2
Kohenkatz writes: "I have Verizon FIOS at home and my Verizon-supplied Actiontec router had the password "password1" that the tech assigned to it when he set it up three years ago. I received an email from Verizon that said "we have identified that your router still had a password of either password1 or admin1 and we have changed it to your serial number." I checked and it actually had been changed. I believe this to be in response to the Black Hat presentation (http://it.slashdot.org/story/10/07/16/122259/Millions-of-Home-Routers-Are-Hackable) about the hackability of home routers. I am upset about this because Verizon should not have any way to get into my router and change the settings, especially because I own the router, not them! I looked in the router's settings and I see port 4567 goes to the router and is labeled "Verizon FIOS Service". Is this port for anything useful other than Verizon changing settings on my router? What security measures does Verizon have to protect that port from unauthorized access?"
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