Hilton hacking: Not enough action

2005-03-02 12:54

San Francisco - The hacking of the cellphone belonging to US celebrity heiress Paris Hilton has exposed an easy way to illegally access the cellphones of millions of users around the world, according to a report by cellphone consultants Mobile Competency.

Hackers can use a feature made available by many carriers that allows users to bypass the need for a security password to access functions like voicemail if they are calling from their own phone.

The system is meant to be safe by using caller identification to verify that the call is coming from the user's own cell phone.

But according to Mobile Competency's Bob Eagan, it provides an open invitation to hackers. They can gain access to any phone for which the password protection is off, simply by using a relatively simple method to spoof the required number in the caller ID system.

"We were shocked by mobile voicemail vulnerability," Eagan said on Monday. "This is not about [cellphone] operator bashing. This is about generating attention. They knew this and haven't generated any action." - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA