Cell-phone security secrets exposed online

By Associated Press
December 31 2009

FRANKFURT - A German security expert has raised the ire of the cell phone industry after he and a group of researchers posted online a how-to guide for cracking the encryption that keeps the calls of GSM-standard cell phone users secret.

Karsten Nohl, 28, said that working with others online and around the world, he’s created a codebook showing how to get past the GSM encryption used to keep conversations on more than 3 billion mobile phones safe from prying ears.

Nohl said the purpose was to push companies to improve security. The collaborative effort put the information online through file-sharing sites.

“The message is to have better security, not we want to break you,â€