In a move to shed light on the vulnerability of GSM wireless networks, encryption expert Karsten Nohl, with the aid of 24 fellow hackers, was able to compile the multitude of algorithms behind the twenty one year old, 64-bit encryption scheme used to encrypt 80% of the world’s cellular GSM phone calls. The algorithm’s code book, comprising 2TB worth of data, has been published by Nohl and is now available on the Internet through BitTorrent. This is not the first time GSM was “cracked”....

It has been long argued that the A5/1 encryption standard used to secure GSM traffic from eavesdropping is, in fact, insecure, and California based security firm H4RDW4RE is pioneering an effort to hammer that point home by cracking the encryption scheme. The A5/1 cipher is based on a 64-bit key — each cell phone has a 64-bit secret key which is also known by the connected GSM network. When you initiate a call the GSM network uses the secret key to generate a session key and encrypt your phone call. H4R...