00:00​ I hacked Linus!
00:59​ How Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak hacked the telephone network
02:22​ Early history of the telephone
07:08​ The kidnapping of Sheikha Latifa
08:41​ How Signalling System No. 7 works
11:03​ Why SS7 is vulnerable to hacking
12:15​ How hackers gain access to phones
16:17​ How I was able to spy on Linus’ phone
18:09​ How hackers can intercept text messages
21:04​ How your location can be tracked via SS7
29:03​ How to protect your phone from hacking

  • @[email protected]English
    21•9 hours ago

    It’s been known for years that SMS-based 2FA is terrible, terrible security. The sites that use them have no interest in their users’ accounts’ security: all they’re interested in is harvesting their phone numbers.

      • @[email protected]English
        2•1 hour ago

        2FA is great. It’s the best tool there is against impersonation and account takeovers.

        But it’s only great PROVIDED

        1. It’s a real, proper second factor like a hardware token or - less great but okay - a “secure” cellphone app. When it’s a totally insecure factor like SMS, 1FA is preferable.
        2. It’s not such a PITA that you hate using it.
        3. When it’s a proprietary app from one of the big data sonsabitches, it’s also an app to spy on you and your activities.
    • @mipadaituEnglish
      4•4 hours ago

      SMS is fine for 2FA, as long as you can’t use it for anything else, like a password reset.

      Once the SMS is used for account recovery, it’s now 1FA with a terrible security hole.

      If you have complex, single use passwords, and have SMS 2FA, then it’s pretty ok. Not the best security, but at least better than a most.

      Obviously offline time based passkeys are better for the 2FA, but typically the real problem is how to get into an account if you’ve lost one part of your login.

      • @[email protected]English
        -2•4 hours ago

        SMS is fine for 2FA, as long as you can’t use it for anything else

        Oh yeah? Post your bank customer number and your telephone number on here and see how fast your account gets drained without you even getting a single confirmation code SMS.