It would appear there’s a new hacking and espionage platform out there, one called Regin and focused on tapping into GSM networks. The findings were done by a team inside the Kaspersky Lab (Global Research and Analysis), who published a pretty chilling report.
The attackers can access and monitor GSM networks, aside from other espionage activities. At least 14 different countries have been affected by Regin, including the likes of Algeria, Afghanistan, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Iran, India and more. The primary targets for Regin are telecom carriers, government institutions, banks, research facilities and political organizations.
Regin is able to monitor the control system of GSM cells and collect data about it and the network infrastructure, as well as access all the info about processed calls and redirect calls to other sources. As early as April 2008 there was a Regin attack that involved collecting administrative info and manipulate at least a GSM network in the Middle East. Regin isn’t only a software, it’s a platform, with multiple modules that can get control over entire institutions and networks.
The scary thing is that we’re only finding out about it now, when many GSM cells have been compromised. Apparently, they are all unified and work as a common network once Regin starts working on them. Is this scarier than NSA’s tapping or what?
