Location-based services in particular rely on the same principle for determining location without satellite assistance, for example, indoors or when GPS is turned off.Īll fiddling with the hacked SIM card is totally invisible to the user. Following these instructions, the SIM card queries the mobile phone for its serial number and the Cell ID of the base station in whose coverage zone the subscriber is located, and sends an SMS response with this information to the attacker’s number.īase station coordinates are known (and even available online), so the Cell ID can be used to determine the location of the subscriber within several hundred meters. The attack begins with an SMS message containing a set of instructions for the SIM card. Researchers have not named specific regions or telcos that sell SIM cards with this app installed, but they claim more than 1 billion people in no fewer than 30 countries use it, and it is in Browser that the abovementioned vulnerability was discovered. The Browser app has not been updated since 2009, and although in modern devices its functions are performed by other programs, Browser is still actively used - or at the very least, is still installed on many SIM cards. For example, Browser can supply information about your account balance. It is used for viewing Web pages of a certain format and pages located on the carrier’s internal network. One of the apps included in the STK is called Browser. STK responds to external commands, such as buttons pressed on the carrier menu, and makes the phone perform certain actions, such as sending SMS messages or USSD commands. Remember that your SIM card is in fact a tiny computer with its own operating system and programs. The menu is essentially an app - or more precisely, several apps with the general name SIM Toolkit (STK) - but these programs do not run on the phone itself, but on the SIM card. iOS buries it deep in the Settings (under SIM Application), and in Android smartphones it’s a standalone app called SIM Toolkit. Old phones had it right in the main menu. This menu includes tasks such as Balance Check, Recharge, Technical Support, and sometimes extras such as Weather, or even Horoscope, and so on. Most SIM cards released since the early 2000s, including eSIM, feature a carrier menu. Whereas some older methods of cellular surveillance required special equipment and a telecom operating license, this attack, called Simjacker, takes advantage of a vulnerability found in SIM cards. This also applied to regular SIM cards.Recently, experts at AdaptiveMobile Security discovered a method of attack on mobile phones that can be carried out using a normal computer and a dirt-cheap USB modem. You will be prompted to enter the PIN to confirm. To disable eSIM PIN on iPhone, navigate to Settings > Cellular > SIM PIN then disable. You can use the same steps for regular SIM cards. You will need to enter the PIN once more to confirm it. To disable eSIM PIN on Android, navigate to Settings > Security > Advanced Settings > SIM card lock then disable the lock. How to disable eSIM PIN on iPhone and Android devices Taps to install the eSIM with the configurations that will show up. To enable eSIM on iOS, ensure that you have a QR code from your carrier then scan it with your camera app. Scan the QR code provided by your carrier then proceed to download and install SIM configuration. On your Android device, proceed to Settings > Network & Internet > SIMs > + Add more > Download a SIM instead?. To enable eSIM on Android, contact your carrier to issue you with a QR code. This enables a smartphone to be dual SIM if they already have one physical SIM. How to Enable eSIMĮSIM is an embedded sim card that is already built into a number of modern phones. To activate SIM Toolkit on android devices, navigate to Settings > Apps > See all apps > SIM Toolkit, enable if disabled then open the app.įor dual SIM phones, follow the steps then scroll to the bottom of the list to find SIM Toolkit, (SIM 1 or SIM 2) then you will find SimToolkit.
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