Academic Research Finds Five US Telcos Vulnerable to SIM Swapping Attacks

An academic study done at Princeton University found that “five major US prepaid wireless carriers are vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks.” SIM swaps occur when an attacker tricks the telco’s staff to switch someone’s phone number to the attacker’s SIM card, allowing the attacker to gain access to “sensitive online accounts, like email inboxes, e-banking portals, or cryptocurrency trading systems.” Among the 140 services and websites that were involved in the study, major providers like AT&T, T-Mobile, Tracfone, US Mobil, and Verizon Wireless along with 17 other websites were all found to be using vulnerable procedures.

To see the full article written by Catalin Cimpanu on ZDNet click here.