Ο Edward Snowden claims that the NSA and GCHQ managed to breach the networks of Gemalto, the world's largest SIM card manufacturer. With this particular hack, they gained access to the encryption keys of the cards.
The hack as we mentioned above was carried out by a team of NSA and GCHQ. The information about the attack are revealed by a 2010 GCHQ document.
Gemalto manufactures SIM cards for companies AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint και άλλες πολλές. Συνολικά κατασκευάζει κάρτες για περίπου 450 παρόχους τηλεπικοινωνιών σε όλο τον κόσμο.
According to his leak Edward Snowden, stolen encryption keys allow the Secret Service to monitoring κινητών επικοινωνιών χωρίς permission from the phone companies. They also bypass the need for a warrant and intercept without leaving traces that can be traced by wireless carriers.
Gemalto, for her part, says she did not know about the hack until it was published by Intercept.
"I'm very upset and worried about what has happened," said Paul Beverly, Gemalto 's executive vice president. "What I want you to understand is what kind of impact it will have on any of our customers."
