Expert eyes mobile app for GSM security
A security expert is calling for the creation of a mobile app to alert users when their communications security has been compromised.
Craig Heath, chief security technologist at the Symbian Foundation, threw up the idea in a blog post Monday, noting that the security tool would serve up a warning dialog when encryption is turned off, or when "other suspicious activity" originating from base stations is detected.
Mobile phones, he said, currently are able to identify what encryption algorithm is being used between the base station and the device. For example, the Sony Ericsson P1i displays a triangle icon as warning when the base station switches to A5/0, which according to the GSM Security Web site, utilizes no encryption. GSM Security is a service provided by U.S.-based Network System Architects.
