Any smartphone can be spied on without the need to install third-party software, the founder of the Dust Mobile startup warned at the International Forum on Cyber ​​Security (FIC) in Lille, where he won the jury’s top prize, reports AFP.

“For $500 a month on the dark web, just by knowing your number, a hacker can remotely and without your knowledge find your phone, intercept and listen to your calls, SMS and MMS to send them to you altered or send or call as if you were himself,” Jean-Michel Henrard explained to AFP.

Therefore, his company has developed a system to protect against this little-known risk of hacking, in which hackers use, among other things, weak points in the security of SIM cards or systems that allow communication between two people who do not have the same operator.

These flaws are as old as networks themselves.

“These communication protocols between operators were originally designed without protection, as only operators had access to them. Now potentially anyone can access them. So hackers can run commands to attack, they just need your number,” said Henrard, a former employee of Fujitsu Telecom, Airbus Defense and Thales.

An effective solution, but not for individuals

Dust Mobile, a mobile cyber security operator, has been selling a firewall SIM card since 2020: the user receives a notification in the event of an attack and can thus block it.

This applies only to companies and public services, “so as not to protect those who are not worth protecting,” the director said.

It also detects “IMSI-Catcher” attacks, a more well-known modus operandi used especially by intelligence agencies. It allows you to intercept data or conversations by simulating a network antenna.

However, the Dust Mobile system does not apply to online messaging applications.

Those flaws, which have already been reported by the European Cyber ​​Security Agency and global operator group GSMA, affect all operators, including 5G, although some have implemented stronger protections, Henrard said.

Phone hacking is becoming more and more sophisticated, with software that is stealthily installed on a phone and spies on its contents. One of the most famous, Pegasus, has recently targeted world leaders, judges, entertainers or athletes. (photo: Georgejmclittle, Dreamstime.com)