SIM card hack inspires quick fix by carriers

The personal data on SIM cards, which are found in every mobile phone, was considered unhackable until recently

Las Vegas (CNN) -- Major wireless carriers have fixed a bug that could have allowed criminals to hack into hundreds of millions of cell phones, says a security expert who exposed the flaw.

Cryptographer Karsten Nohl of Security Research Labs in Germany says he discovered the bug after spending three years figuring out how to hack SIM cards, those tiny removable plastic cards found in cell phones and other mobile devices.

Nohl accessed the SIM cards by exploiting flaws in the encryption keys and sending a hidden SMS text message. SIM cards can identify the phone's owner and store some sensitive personal data, such as payment information.

SIM card hack inspires quick fix by carriers | CNN.com

Five charged as Feds bust largest credit-card hack in history

Hundreds of millions stolen from biggest names in US

NASDAQ hacked

Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say they've busted what could be the biggest credit card hacking fraud in US history, with companies such as NASDAQ, 7-Eleven, and Dow Jones falling prey to an Eastern European criminal gang.

According to the indictment, the gang stole data on up to 160 million credit cards and then sold them on in underground forums so that they could be written onto blank cards and be used to withdraw funds. The losses for just three of the many companies they targeted came to over $300m, according to the authorities.

"This type of crime is the cutting edge. Those who have the expertise and the inclination to break into our computer networks threaten our economic well-being, our privacy, and our national security," said US Attorney Paul Fishman in a statement.

"This case shows there is a real practical cost because these types of frauds increase the costs of doing business for every American consumer, every day. We cannot be too vigilant and we cannot be too careful."

Up to 160 million credit cards stolen from NASDAQ | The Register