https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/24/hackers-cell-networks-call-records-theft/
By Zack Whittaker
TechCrunch
June 24, 2019
Security researchers say they have uncovered a massive espionage campaign
involving the theft of call records from hacked cell network providers to
conduct targeted surveillance on individuals of interest.
The hackers have systematically broken in to more than 10 cell networks
around the world to date over the past seven years to obtain massive
amounts of call records -- including times and dates of calls, and their
cell-based locations -- on at least 20 individuals.
Researchers at Boston-based Cybereason, who discovered the operation and
shared their findings with TechCrunch, said the hackers could track the
physical location of any customer of the hacked telcos -- including spies
and politicians -- using the call records.
Lior Div, Cybereason's co-founder and chief executive, told TechCrunch
it’s "massive-scale" espionage.
Call detail records -- or CDRs -- are the crown jewels of any intelligence
agency’s collection efforts. These call records are highly detailed
metadata logs generated by a phone provider to connect calls and messages
from one person to another. Although they don’t include the recordings of
calls or the contents of messages, they can offer detailed insight into a
person’s life. The National Security Agency has for years controversially
collected the call records of Americans from cell providers like AT&T and
Verizon (which owns TechCrunch), despite the questionable legality.
[...]
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