An expert cybersecurity firm, Adaptive Mobile Security, revealed a list of countries that are most vulnerable to attacks against SIM cards.
According to the investigation carried out by the firm, there is an attack called Simjacker, which could be a dangerous spying technique that, only by sending a text message, hackers can control a mobile device that has a SIM card defective.
What is the Simjacker security attack?
In the words of Adaptive Mobile Security, the Simjacker attack exploits the vulnerability of some of the SIM cards and it all starts through an SMS that executes a code that allows access to the card’s functionalities, which leaves users exposed to possible espionage
This means that the Simjacker attack involves an SMS that contains code similar to spyware that is sent to a mobile phone and then instructs the SIM card to take over and thus recover and execute sensitive commands.
The SMS contains a series of instructions that cause the explosion of the presence of particular software, but first of all, it requests access to the location and the IMEI code of the cell phone. That information is sent to the hacker and, thus, the attacker can control the victim’s location at all times.
While all this is happening, the victim is unaware that an attack is installed on his SIM card.
Simjacker takes a different approach to other types of malware, since it simplifies and greatly expands the attack by relying on browser software as a runtime environment.
Risks of being a victim of Simjacker
If a hacker manages to violate your mobile device, then you could control it remotely and have the possibility of making calls, sending text messages or entering your bank accounts for theft of money.
To warn users, Adaptive Mobile published a list of the countries that are most vulnerable. Take a look and make sure yours isn’t in trouble.
- Mexico
- Guatemala
- Belize
- Dominican Republic
- The Savior
- Honduras
- Panama
- Nicaragua
- Costa Rica
- Brazil
- Peru
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Chile
- Argentina
- Uruguay
- Paraguay
- Ivory Coast
- Ghana
- Benin
- Nigeria
- Cameroon
- Italy
- Bulgaria
- Cyprus
- Saudi Arabia
- Iraq
- Lebanon
- Palestine
Why are these countries the most vulnerable?
Everything seems to indicate that mobile operators still include S @ T Browser technology in some of their SIM cards, which in the past allowed various services to access, for example, the balance of data and voice minutes that we had left on our card every month. Therefore, it is possible that hackers can take advantage of this function for malicious use.
To avoid being a victim, you could change your SIM card, since the newer ones no longer have S @ T Browser. That is, if you already have many years with your chip, then consider updating it.
Other attacks in Mexico
Mexico, in addition to being one of the most vulnerable to suffer from Simjacker, is a victim of another type of attack called Cryptojacking, a threat that is born from the cryptocurrency and is hidden in a computer or mobile device to use its resources and thus extract Various forms of digital currencies.
If you want to know more about it, you can enter this link.