Iran abused mobile networks’ vulnerabilities to locate U.S. military in the Middle East, report says
A report indicates that the Iranian government exploited vulnerabilities in global telecommunications protocols, specifically SS7, to track U.S. military personnel in the Middle East. These surveillance techniques were reportedly used to facilitate strikes against military bases.
Why it matters
The exploitation of legacy telecom infrastructure poses a significant national security risk to military operations and global communications security.
The Iranian government abused well-known vulnerabilities in the global telecoms infrastructure to locate U.S. military personnel in the build-up to the Iran War, as well as in the early days of the conflict, according to The Financial Times .
The Iranian government exploited Signaling System 7, or SS7, a set of protocols for 2G and 3G networks that has long been the backbone of how cellular networks connect to each other to route subscribers’ calls and texts around the world, the newspaper reported, citing research by the Mobile Surveillance Monitor, as well as anonymous government officials with knowledge of the spy campaign.
Intelligence agencies have long abused SS7 to track cellphones abroad, which is what happened in this campaign.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in