The German Government has drafted in experts from GSMK CryptoPhone, a secure phone manufacturer, to combat security threats against mobile phones as part of a security research programme, dubbed ‘SMOG’.
Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, in collaboration with the German Federal Office of Information Security BSI, GSMK CryptoPhone will manage SMOG, focusing on stamping out network-level, over-the-air attacks to prevent unauthorised access to mobile phone data, portable computers, confidential information, emails, text messages and voice calls.
“Network protocol-level attacks that exploit weaknesses in a mobile device’s baseband processor have only recently become technically feasible. This has a massive impact on the security of all mobile devices linked to the world via modern cellular network infrastructures,” said Dr Bjoern Rupp, CEO at GSMK CryptoPhone.
“The scope of new threats against the confidentiality and integrity of information communicated via mobile devices has widened dramatically. GSMK’s holistic view of mobile device security and its capability to provide comprehensive protection against a wide range of attacks, will prove essential in preventing current and future attacks against government and corporate mobile devices.
“GSMK CryptoPhone’s management and execution of SMOG is a tribute to the company’s long-standing expertise within the mobile device security sector.”
The technology developed through this programme will be widely deployed to protect German government and corporate mobile devices in Germany and abroad.