T-Mobile hardens network against snooping

[securitybreach]

Wireless carrier T-Mobile US has been quietly upgrading its network in a way that makes it harder for surveillance equipment to eavesdrop on calls and monitor texts, even on the company’s legacy system.

 

The upgrade involves switching to a new encryption standard, called A5/3, that is harder to crack than older forms of encryption. Testing by The Washington Post has found T-Mobile networks using A5/3 in New York, Washington and Boulder, Colorado, instead of the older A5/1 that long has been standard for second-generation (2G) GSM networks in the United States. More advanced technologies, such as 3G and 4G, already use stronger encryption.

 

T-Mobile, the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the United States, declined to describe the extent of its network upgrades, saying in a statement, “T-Mobile is continuously implementing advanced security technologies in accordance with worldwide recognized and trusted standards.”........

 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/10/22/t-mobile-quietly-hardens-part-of-its-u-s-cellular-network-against-snooping/