Barbados Today December 15, 2020
SOURCE: The Guardian China appears to have used mobile phone networks in the Caribbean to surveil US mobile phone subscribers as part of its espionage campaign against Americans, according to a mobile network security expert who has analysed sensitive signals data.
The findings paint an alarming picture of how China has allegedly exploited decades-old vulnerabilities in the global telecommunications network to route “active” surveillance attacks through telecoms operators.
The alleged attacks appear to be enabling China to target, track, and intercept phone communications of US phone subscribers, according to research and analysis by Gary Miller, a Washington state-based former mobile network security executive.
Report: China Using Caribbean Cell Phone Networks to Spy on Americans
15 Dec 2020
Former mobile network executive Gary Miller, founder of a cybersecurity startup called Exigent Media, on Tuesday accused China of using mobile phone networks in the Caribbean to conduct surveillance operations against Americans.
Miller detailed the findings of his report on Chinese cell phone espionage in an interview with the UK
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At the heart of the allegations are claims that China, using a state-controlled mobile phone operator, is directing signaling messages to US subscribers, usually while they are travelling abroad.
Signaling messages are commands that are sent by a telecoms operators across the global network, unbeknownst to a mobile phone user. They allow operators to locate mobile phones, connect mobile phone users to one another, and assess roaming charges. But some signaling messages can be used for illegitimate purposes, such as tracking, monitoring, or intercepting communications.
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BRIDGETOWN China appears to have used mobile phone networks in the Caribbean to surveil United States mobile phone subscribers as part of its espionage campaign against Americans, according to a mobile network security expert who has analyzed sensitive signals data.
The findings paint an alarming picture of how China has allegedly exploited decades-old vulnerabilities in the global telecommunications network to route “active” surveillance attacks through telecommunications operators, as first reported in The Guardian.
The alleged attacks appear to be enabling China to target, track, and intercept phone communications of U.S. phone subscribers, according to research and analysis by Gary Miller, a Washington state-based former mobile network security executive.
By Graham Dockery, RT A US telecoms expert believes China is snooping on Americans’ mobile phones in a number of Caribbean countries. Gary Miller’s claims are either proof of Beijing’s malfeasance, or drumbeats in the US’ march toward a new Cold War.
China allegedly used its second-largest telecoms operator – China Unicom – to send
“tens of thousands” of so-called signaling messages to Americans in the Caribbean. These messages are usually used by operators to track phones and assess roaming charges, but Miller, a telecoms security consultant, told the Guardian on Tuesday that in some cases, they can be used for
China s mass surveillance has been widely acknowledged by intelligence communities. With the country s advancement in technology, its communist government has broadened its spy network through digital means - mobile apps and hacking tools exploiting vulnerabilities and facial recognition besides conventional methods beyond mainland China. But now, according to a report, China is allegedly spying on American citizens through telephone networks in the Caribbean.
A former mobile network security executive, Gary Miller from Washington, has claimed that China has been allegedly exploiting vulnerabilities in the telephone network to route communications, allowing it to track, intercept and target communications of American mobile phone users. Miller, who was working for mobile security company Mobileum, started his company Exigent Media, a cybersecurity research firm. He said he wanted to expose the severity of this activity and help deploy countermeasures.