Security Red Alert: How Simjacker Puts Billions of Mobile Devices At The Mercy Of Hackers
In the past, we have seen SIM jacking attacks, where a hacker can impersonate a targeted victim to steal the cell phone number, which then can be used to access the victim’s unprotected assets. But, now cybersecurity researchers at AdaptiveMobile Security have identified a critical vulnerability in SIM cards that could allow remote attackers to compromise targeted mobile phones and spy on victims without their knowledge just by sending an SMS. The vulnerability has been named ‘Simjacker’. The difference between SIM jacking and Simjacker vulnerability is that the former is a process that involves the impersonation of individuals using their SIM card information. AdaptiveMobile Security says this vulnerability has been exploited for at least the last 2 years by a highly sophisticated threat actor in multiple countries, primarily for the purposes of surveillance. How Is The Attack Carried Out? The Simjacker attack involves an SMS containing a particular kind of malicious code be
