Carl Chapman » wireless

New Kraken GSM-cracking software released

Carl — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:49:42 +0000

The GSM technology used by the majority of the world’s mobile phones will get some scrutiny at this week’s Black Hat security conference, and what the security researchers there have to say isn’t pretty.

On Friday, an open source group released software that cracks the A5/1 encryption algorithm used by some GSM networks. Called Kraken, this software uses new, very efficient, encryption cracking tables that allow it to break A5/1 encryption much faster than before.

The software is a key step toward eavesdropping on mobile phone conversations over GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) networks.

In December, the group released a set of encryption tables designed to speed up the arduous process of breaking A5/1 encryption, but the software component was incomplete. Now the software is done, and the tables are much more efficient than they were seven months ago.

4G wireless: It’s fast, but outstripped by hype

Carl — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:06:49 +0000

Cell phone companies have started to barrage consumers with advertising for the next advance in wireless network technology: “4G” access. The companies are promising faster speeds and the thrill of being the first on the block to use a new acronym.

Much of this is just marketing spin to promote systems that in some cases do not even meet the 4G standard.

There’s less to 4G than meets the eye, and there’s little reason for people to scramble for it, at least for the next few years…..

Read the full original article at the Associated Press.

More information:-

‘4G’ technologies do not officially exist – yet – Mobile Business Breifing

Claim of 3G Security Crack with Sandwich Attack

Carl — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:58:55 +0000

Following a recent crack of the simpler A5/1 standard, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science say they have cracked the A5/3 security cipher (nicknamed Kasumi) by using what’s known as a “sandwich” attack. The group accomplished its goal by creating a distinguishing trait for the key and using just four related keys to determine the key for Kasumi itself.

While breaking the security takes time, the approach theoretically leaves GSM more directly exposed to call interceptions and other threats. Most cellular carriers still use the lower-grade GSM quality (A5/1) as their base calling technology, but 3G/UMTS (the upgrade to GSM) uses Kasumi and is potentially exposed as well.

More information:- http://www.emergentchaos.com/archives/2010/01/another_week_another_gsm.html

New Online Wireless Courses

Carl — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:12:05 +0000

To supplement our existing range of courses for registered learners, we have added a new Online Wireless Courses page, linking to a selection publicly available and free online courses.

The two initial courses added are:

XC001 – Intro to Radio Waves – An introduction to radio waves and their characteristics.
XC002 – Intro to Cellular – An introduction to cellular technologies and protocols.

The courses are provided in Flash and PDF format. Each course is supplemented with a set of PDF lesson notes.

Additional courses will be made available on this list regularly.