The US proposes an alternative to avoid SIM hacking

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States proposed new rules that prevent two of the frauds that affect users the most, known as SIM duplication and transfer.

SIM duplication, known as SIM Swapping, and transfer fraud (to another carrier) are two techniques that allow cybercriminals to hijack a user’s phone number. Its importance lies in the fact that the telephone is usually one of the identity verification factors in digital services, such as bank payments or access to social networks.

To prevent this type of fraud, the FCC introduced new rules that oblige network operators to adopt more secure methods to validate the identity of a user before redirecting the phone number to a new device or carrier, as stated by the Commission in a statement.

These rules would also require operators to immediately notify users each time a SIM card is requested or changed. The FCC recognizes security breaches that expose users’ mobile data as a risk from these types of attacks.

Source: dpa