[cachestash]

I worked for a big European network vendor and ended up on a project trying to sort out the utter mess that is legacy SS7.

SS7 networks are basically wide open, with no auth and anyone can get an SS7 hub for cheap and start sending nefarious commands to peoples handsets. They can forward or record calls and read SMS. They can track you or they could just be a jerk and keep rebooting your phone. Worse still it can be used to intercept 2FA codes over SMS, which is the approach a lot of banks are taking for personal account security. intelligence agencies are without a doubt using it for intercepting and tracking.

The Telcos are lost with how to address the issues combined with cost considerations, so most are taking the approach of hoping it stays out of the news and waiting for it to eventually be deprecated from the network.

[fulafel]

I hope in the long the telco world will adopt the internet approach of treating the network as untrusted.