Perilous

Using a cheap handset and easily available open-source software, someone could monitor your cell phone’s location or even block it from receiving calls without you knowing about it, according to the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering.

The hacking collective Anonymous proved recently that their list of victims would not be limited to simple websites and databases. It managed to intercept and post online a 17-minute conference call between the FBI and the U.K.’s Scotland Yard in which the two agencies discussed strategies for investigating Anonymous itself.

Telecom towers track cell-phone subscribers so they “know” where to broadcast when someone dials up your phone. Law enforcement agencies can already access cell phone location information from the towers with a subpoena. 

But that broadcast is also vulnerable to others who are not police investigators or cell-phone service providers, and the Minnesota researchers proved it by monitoring a test subject within a 10-block area of Minneapolis. They used “readily available equipment and no direct help from the service provider,” states a report of their findings:

Agents from an oppressive regime may no longer require cooperation from reluctant service providers to determine if dissidents are at a protest location. Another example could be thieves testing if a user’s cell phone is absent from a specific area and therefore deduce the risk level associated with a physical break-in of the victim’s residence.   

It’s worth mentioning that hackers are not limited to groups like Anonymous. Anyone can hack for a variety of reasons, including university researchers, government employees, private investigators, burglars or any number of other people.

Image: Stock.xchng/Alfonso Diaz