GSM Cell Phone Encryption Broken

What's happening: At a conference in Berlin, German security researcher Karsten Nohl demonstrated a way to break system encryption to listen to conversations on GSM-based mobile phones. The encryption algorithm and variants of it are used to ensure the privacy of 80% of mobile calls.

What it means: Expect cell phone providers to strengthen GSM encryption algorithms.

What to do: While the fallout from this demonstration is not likely to put you at special risk, it is always a good idea to be circumspect in what you say on a mobile phone call.

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Cellphone Encryption Code Is Divulged