Information regarding a publication mentioning a hacking of SIM card encryption keys
- A publication reported yesterday that in 2010 and 2011, a joint unit composed of operatives from the British GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) and the American NSA (National Security Agency) hacked SIM card encryption keys engraved in Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 - GTO) and possibly other SIM vendors' cards. The publication indicates thetarget was not Gemalto per se
- it was an attempt to try and cast the widest net possible to reach as many mobile phones as possible, with the aim to monitor mobile communications without mobile network operators and users consent. We cannot at this early stage verify the findings of the publication and had no prior knowledge that these agencies were conducting this operation.
- At present we cannot prove a link between those past attempts and what was reported yesterday.