Fake GSM Base Station Trick Targets IPhones

mvar writes "While his Black Hat DC Conference demonstration was not flawless, a University of Luxembourg student on Wednesday did show that it's possible to trick iPhone users into joining a fake GSM network. Ralf-Philipp Weinmann showed how to cobble together a laptop using open-source software OpenBTS and other low-cost gear to create a fake GSM transmitter base station to locate iPhones in order to send their owners a message. A number of iPhone users in the room expressed surprise that they had gotten a message asking them to join the network. 'You want to get phones not just used by the teenage crowd but executives,' said Weinmann, adding that it is possible to 'have complete control of the phone.' Part of the reason these fake GSM network attacks are possible is because the code base used in smartphones such as the iPhone, which is Infineon-based, goes back to the 1990s."

XKCD

[Zlurg]

Ah yes, art's imitation by Life Itself. [xkcd.com]

White hat

[Stavr0]

Cool. Can we get it as an Asterisk plugin? [slashdot.org] or a Skype proxy?

Dead giveaway

[93 Escort Wagon]

If you've joined a bogus network, your first text message will read "How are you gentlemen!!"