FORBES has learned that British intelligence service GCHQ is helping European providers improve their SS7 security, via CESG, the body's information security arm. Nevertheless, Positive's work shows that any service that uses SMS to verify user accounts has left open an avenue for hackers to quickly target customers.Īs hackers are already exploiting the flaws, and surveillance companies are selling $20 million SS7 snooping services to nation state spies, network operators are trying to roll out protections for customers. The attack, of course, requires the user to have registered a phone number with Facebook and to have authorized Facebook Texts.
