Although you are probably not surprised to learn that phone calls and SMS can be intercepted by hackers monitoring mobile phone networks, the fact that FaceTime si iMessage I'm sure from this point of view it probably comes as very good news for many. A team of German researchers recently discovered a series of vulnerabilities in mobile phone networks around the world, the voice or SMS traffic made through them can be intercepted by the hackers who monitor these GSM networks.
The flaws discovered by the German researchers are actually functions built into SS7 for other purposes – such as keeping calls connected as users speed down highways, switching from cell tower to cell tower – that hackers can repurpose for surveillance because of the lax security on the network .
The vulnerability exists in SS7, a global network that allows mobile operators to monitor global GSM networks, she being theoretically a function that is the basis of their good functioning. Considering that the system was initially designed for a period when cyber threats were very small or non-existent, at the moment SS7 is the main problem for operators who want to secure their networks, but also the main source of information for intelligence services of various countries, or for malicious hackers.
Those skilled at the myriad functions built into SS7 can locate callers anywhere in the world, listen to calls as they happen or record hundreds of encrypted calls and texts at a time for later decryption. There is also potential to defraud users and cellular carriers by using SS7 functions, the researchers say.
In this idea, Apple's FaceTime and iMessage systems are protected from problems of this kind regarding the interception of messages or video or phone calls, even if the Internet traffic they need is made through the network of a mobile operator. Even if based on a phone call made through a GSM network, a person's location can also be discovered, FaceTime and iMessage are safe because they use secure VoIP connections, so no one will be able to take any information from you.
