SIM card hacked, could affect 'millions of phones'

German cryptographer Karsten Nohl claims to have broken the encryption standard on certain types of SIM cards. The exploit could allow a virus to be uploaded and then carry out payment system fraud, redirect and record calls, and more. Nohl says that cards which are affected vary by country and carrier - since encryption standards vary between countries. According to his estimates about an eighth of the world's SIM cards could be affected, or about half a billion devices.

This marks the first time SIM cards have been compromised, as until now it was thought that SIM cards were unhackable.

GSM Arena , SIM card hacked, could affect 'millions of phones', SIM card hacked, could affect 'millions of phones'