Re:Ask HN: Why are SIM cards still a thing?
by URSpider94 on Sunday October 30, 2016 @02:19PM
(#12831320)
But that's the choice of the network operator. The SIM itself is still completely unique and identifiable, they just chose to allow customers to re-map SIM's on the fly.
and this is the norm all over the world. And SIMs cannot exist without the network operator. So in the end, this is the worst vulnerability of SIM cards.
Re:Ask HN: Why are SIM cards still a thing?
by makomk on Sunday October 30, 2016 @07:28PM
(#12833154)
SIM cards come from an era where mobile phone contracts were much less common and more expensive, and therefore cloning phones cost the providers a lot of money. I assume the security requirements for reissuing SIMs were also higher back then.
I transferred my mobile phone number etc over to a new SIM card the other week and all I needed was name, address, DOB and proof of ID... of course my network didnt have any of these on file yet, so I had to first tell them these details, and then show ID to verify that I was who I had just told them that I should be. Yeah... this is the state of consumer mobile security.
None of this required physical access to the phone, I just had to login to their website, with a username and password, and change my details.
On most networks you can steal someones mobile number with just a few minutes of physical access and a bit of planning.