An interesting demonstration at Black Hat DC, proving how easy it is to create a fake GSM network and lure unsuspecting users into connecting to it.
From the article:
Ralf-Philipp Weinmann showed how to cobble together a laptop using open-source software OpenBTS and other low-cost gear to create a fake GSM transmitter base station to locate iPhones in order to send their owners a message. A number of iPhone users in the room expressed surprise that they had gotten a message asking them to join the network.
Weinmann, who is researching vulnerabilities in cellular networks, said that with the right equipment, the range for the rogue GSM station he built can be 35 kilometers.
Once someone is connected to a GSM station you own, of course, that means that their voice traffic will pass through it and can be easily recorded. Perhaps it’s time for an overhaul of the Clinton-era code underlying the GSM networks.