UK Phone Hacking Scandal - are the mobile networks partly responsible?

Oracle

I'm not sure this is the right place for this topic, anyway here goes ...

About the News of the World phone hacking scandal. While I agree its unacceptable for journalists to routinely hack into the voicemail of anyone, including celebrities. I think it's partly the fault of the networks, and also maybe the phone manufacturers, for making the default access to voicemail so easy.

Seth Brundle

I'm not justifying their actions, but in fairness, they really should have changed the code to their mailboxes! Its not hard

Oracle

kbannon wrote: »

I'm not justifying their actions, but in fairness, they really should have changed the code to their mailboxes! Its not hard

Yes, that's my point. The networks should design the voicemail system so you have to set up your voicemail PIN before activating the voicemail. Either that or a voicemail PIN should be assigned to you, like the way a mobile phone/SIM card PIN is assigned.

Oracle

<Mods: please move this thread to News and Media I think its more relevant to that forum, thanks.>

flogen

Firstly the handset manufacturers can't really be given any responsibility here - mobile voicemails are entirely a network-based facility.

Secondly, while networks could do more to secure the default status on their mailboxes there's nothing they can do to protect stupid/irresponsible people from themselves.

As long as they provide the user with the tools to secure themselves then I find it hard to blame anyone but the user if they don't change the password etc.

To give an analogy a household door comes with a lock and key but it requires the user to secure it themselves in order to reduce any risk of burglary etc. You wouldn't blame the door-maker if the user fails to do that.

Thirdly default passwords are irrelevant in this story. From what I've seen and read many of the inboxes alleged to have been hacked didn't use default passwords but they were very easy to hack into regardless.

I'm not sure how so I don't know if it was an educated guess on the hackers' part, some kind of information their gleaned from somewhere or poorly designed security on the network's side.

expectationlost

hugh grant bugs a bugger http://www.newstatesman.com/newspapers/2011/04/phone-yeah-cameron-murdoch

see he says they could easily listen in when mobiles were analogue, don't think networks paid enough attention to sercurity, it is partly their fault.

flogen

Analogue phones - that's a blast from the past!

Stuxnet

the word hacking here is a bit sensationalist and ott,
this isnt hacking far from it,

expectationlost

iPwnage wrote: »

the word hacking here is a bit sensationalist and ott,
this isnt hacking far from it,

ok spying

emptybladder

OP, the NoTW cases weren't simply '0000' jobbies. They got their PINs in the majority of cases. Source: Panorama.

BrianD

Originally, I thought it was people not changing their voice mail passwords from the default to something else. Hacking is a bit of a loose term to describe what's going on here. There's nobody running software trying to crack the PIn - they are basically buying the PIN and using it.

It seems that these third parties that the tabloids use specialise in bribing employees of phone networks to get either passwords, confirm who has been calling who, look up numbers and perhaps even paper bills.

From what I hear, these third parties are also used by financial institutions to track down people who owe them money and operate in this country too.

If you have an underpaid customer service rep for a mobile network on his second pay cut then he's a ripe target for somebody to give hima few quid just to look up something. May seem trivial to him or her at the time.

coylemj

The fault lies with the people who buy the magazines and tabloids which report on the private lives of so-called celebrities.

If people want this type of tripe then phone hacking, trespass and downright bullying are the result - Brian O'Driscoll was at the receiving end of this when out Christmas shopping last December, the pap. basically ordered him to pose or he said he would follow him around for the rest of the day if he didn't.

expectationlost

this is about brian o'driscoll this is about one of largest news orgs in the world spying on the deputy prime minister of the uk!

BrianD

Whilst it is third parties who are undertaking the "hacking" it is ultimately being paid for by the tabloids. They can claim they don't know how these third parties get numbers/passwords and they though it was by legal means (if legal means could exist).

Interestingly, that over here the same type of behaviour is going on but is largely undertaken by debt collectors who act as "tracers" for the big banks.

According to the Phoenix and the Sunday Tribune, supplying private information on citizens to debt collection agencies is a cottage industry within one government department. Those who are caught get nothing more than a slap on the wrist from their line management for supplying your personal details to a debt collector who then in turn gives it to a bank. I'd imagine the same kind of thing goes on in some private companies too.

However as the Data Commissioner is now involved some of these state employees may be exposed to criminal proceedings and rightly so. Will be interesting to see what happens next.

Apparently, the Minister responsible for the department in question is introducing new security proceedures including audit trails.