Stolen SIM card keys could be spy tool

Washington: It would be another powerful tool in the arsenal of US and British spy services: encryption keys for a large share of the SIM cards used for mobile phones.

A report by the investigative news website The Intercept, citing leaked documents from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, said the US and British agencies “hacked into” European manufacturer Gemalto to gain these keys.

The report, if accurate, could allow the NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ to secretly monitor a large portion of global communications over mobile devices without using a warrant or wiretap. “This is a huge deal,” said Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer who is chief technology officer at the security firm Resilient Systems, and a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center.

“They’re getting encryption keys of everybody, including you and me. It’s a scorched earth policy.” The report suggests the intelligence services could have access to a wider range of communications than has been previously reported. Other documents have indicated that the NSA can monitor email and traditional phone communications.

Schneier said the report is credible and probably indicates other SIM card makers were hacked as well. David Perry, threat strategist at the security firm F-Secure, called the revelations “the biggest story on mobile privacy we’ve seen so far.” The report is troubling, Perry said, because of the methods described. 

Field trials for body cameras begin in US

Some US border agents have started wearing body cameras in a test of the technology in the field.

Roughly three dozen cameras are being worn by personnel on a volunteer basis during a 90-day test period at locations in New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Michigan and Washington state, said US Border Patrol Assistant Chief Donna Twyford.

The test aims to help Customs and Border Protection determine whether cameras can be used in the field. Authorities tried out the equipment during training, said Twyford.

The agency tasked with manning the country’s borders, ports and airports announced the plan to test out cameras after fielding complaints about the use of force. Testing began in January. Test sites include a checkpoint in Texas and a border patrol station in Santa Teresa, Mexico.