Researchers have demonstrated structural cracks in GSM mobile networks that
make it easy to find the number of most US-based cellphone users and to track
virtually any GSM-enabled handset across the globe.
The hack builds off research by Tobias Engel who in late 2008 showed how to
track the whereabouts of cellphones by tapping into mobile network databases. At
the Source Conference in Boston Wednesday, independent researcher Nick
DePetrillo and Don Bailey of iSec Partners demonstrated how to use similar
techniques to track an individual's location even when his number isn't known
and to glean other details most users presume are untraceable.
