---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <e8a4506d-0985-f5ed-82f8-0e9bb520a733@ionary.com> Date: 15 Apr 2019 00:24:11 -0400 From: "Fred Goldstein" <invalid@see.sig.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Re: Why the US still won't require SS7 fixes that could secure your phone ... https://arstechnica.com/features/2019/04/fully-compromised-comms-how-industry-influence-at-the-fcc-risks-our-digital-security/ > > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > I worked in the Engineering group that was responsible for SS7 in New > England. During the runup to Local Number Portability, when we were > considering new vendors for SS7 devices, I expressed doubts about the > software some of those vendors used: one vendor refused to allow > examination of their software, while anohter depended on Off-the-shelf > commercial software to handle their supervisory and management > functions. The Ars article misses the point. The real reason SS7 won't be fixed is because it can't. SS7 is relied upon by the PSTN legacy switches, mainly AT&T Technologies/WECo/Lucent (mostly they predate the Lucent years) 5ESS and Nortel DMS. Both companies are history. Theoretically Nokia and Ribbon (ex-Genband) own the product lines and sell mainte- nance, but no real upgrades can be done on them. They're being re- placed by newer products, which will mostly use SIP, not SS7. That's probably much less secure, but nobody cares, as they're blinded by IP magic pixie dust. --- Fred R. Goldstein k1io fred "at" ionary.com +1 617 795 2701 ***** Moderator's Note ***** Fred, are they going to put call routing information on the (SHUDDER) Internet? Say it ain't so! Noone could be that ... oh, wait, I forgot. Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20190415170433.GA15976@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2019 17:04:33 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Iowa: FCC broadband maps challenged as overstating access It's no secret some rural Iowans struggle to connect with high-speed internet. With broadband internet speeds crucial to telemedicine, precision agriculture and economic development, the first step in addressing the need for expanded services is identifying where they're lacking. But while the Federal Communications Commission reports that 90 percent of Iowans have access to the FCC benchmark for "advanced broadband," or 25 megabits per second download speeds and 3 Mbps upload speeds, a Microsoft report argues only about 30 percent of Iowans actually use broadband. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/fcc-broadband-maps-challenged-as-overstating-access-rural-iowans-20190414 -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <E79E1298-4C84-4D88-AD7C-74FE2F70C9F7@roscom.com> Date: 13 Apr 2019 12:04:40 -0400 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Google's Sensorvault Is a Boon for Law Enforcement. This Is How It Works. Google's Sensorvault Is a Boon for Law Enforcement. This Is How It Works. Investigators have been tapping into the tech giant's enormous cache of location information in an effort to solve crimes. Here's what this database is and what it does. By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries Law enforcement officials across the country have been seeking information from a Google database called Sensorvault - a trove of detailed location records involving at least hundreds of millions of devices worldwide, The New York Times found. Though the new technique can identify suspects near crimes, it runs the risk of sweeping up innocent bystanders, highlighting the impact that companies' mass collection of data can have on people's lives. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/13/technology/google-sensorvault-location-tracking.html ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Tue, 16 Apr 2019