---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20190515184051.GA11026@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 15 May 2019 18:40:52 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: DOJ accuses Verizon and AT&T employees of participating in SIM-swap identity theft crimes The DOJ has indicted three former Verizon and AT&T employees for alleged membership in a crime-ring known as the "The Community"; the indictment says the telco employees helped their confederates undertake "port-out" scams (AKA "SIM-swapping" AKA "SIM hijacking"), which allowed criminals to gain control over targets' phone numbers, thereby receiving SMS-based two-factor authentication codes. Once in possession of these codes, attackers could take control of targets online accounts, including their banking and cryptocurrency exchange accounts (and also web-based email accounts that could serve as a gateway to many other systems). The returns could be massive, and several cryptocurrency users suffered losses in the millions. https://boingboing.net/2019/05/14/inside-jobs.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <1037DD70-2A57-4EBF-A8E7-75831481B5D3@roscom.com> Date: 14 May 2019 22:02:02 -0400 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Japan plans to create 10 billion 14-digit phone numbers with 5G era approaching The communications ministry plans to create for assignment some 10 billion 14-digit phone numbers starting with the code "020." With the commercialization of fifth-generation, or 5G, superfast mobile communications fast approaching, 11-digit numbers are expected to run out as early as fiscal 2022. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/05/14/national/japan-plans-create-10-billion-14-digit-phone-numbers-5g-era-approaching/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <7380673B-D2C3-4970-AD28-E65982CEBFA3@roscom.com> Date: 14 May 2019 22:26:02 -0400 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: WhatsApp vulnerability exploited to infect phones with Israeli spyware WhatsApp vulnerability exploited to infect phones with Israeli spyware Attacks used app's call function. Targets didn't have to answer to be infected. By Dan Goodin Attackers have been exploiting a vulnerability in WhatsApp that allowed them to infect phones with advanced spyware made by Israeli developer NSO Group, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing the company and a spyware technology dealer. A representative of WhatsApp, which is used by 1.5 billion people, told Ars that company researchers discovered the vulnerability earlier this month while they were making security improvements. CVE-2019-3568, as the vulnerability has been indexed, is a buffer overflow vulner- ability in the WhatsApp VOIP stack that allows remote code execution when specially crafted series of SRTCP packets are sent to a target phone number, according to this advisory. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/05/whatsapp-vulnerability-exploited-to-infect-phones-with-israeli-spyware/ ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Thu, 16 May 2019