The Citizen Lab

Security Researchers Uncover Two Spying Campaigns Exploiting Global Telecom Infrastructure

Security researchers at Citizen Lab have identified two separate spying campaigns exploiting vulnerabilities in global telecommunications infrastructure to track people's locations. The campaigns abused SS7 and Diameter protocols through three telecom providers—019Mobile, Tango Networks U.K., and Airtel Jersey—acting as surveillance entry points. One campaign used SIMjacker attacks to turn targets' phones into tracking devices. Researchers say these are just a small snapshot of widespread exploitation by surveillance vendors.