Is your money safe? Bank hack could affect MILLIONS of customers around the world by intercepting two-step login verification codes

Friday, May 5, 2017
By Paul Martin

The hack uses a weakness in a global telecom network called Signal System 7
Criminals intercept access codes sent by banks to verify a customer’s identity
The exploit could be used on any bank that uses two-step login verification
Any other website that uses this method is vulnerable to the attack

By TIM COLLINS
DailyMail.com
5 May 2017

It was designed as a security measure to increase protection of internet users across the globe.

But hackers have used a well-known security vulnerability in worldwide mobile telecoms networks to steal access codes to online bank accounts.

The exploit could be used against any bank that uses two-step login verification, as well as high-profile websites like Facebook, Google and many others.

And until money has come out of your bank account, or malicious messages have been sent on social media, you won’t know you’ve been hit.

The attacks, first reported in Germany, are the first time that criminals have been able to exploit the Signal System 7 (SS7) to steal funds from bank accounts.

SS7 service helps mobile networks across the world route calls and texts, for example by keeping calls connected as users speed along roads, switching from signal tower to signal tower.

But it can also be used by criminals to redirect data, and hackers have now found a way to intercept the two-stage authentication codes sent out by banks.

These are used to verify the identity of customers attempting log in to their accounts or to place some online transactions.

They are usually sent in the form of SMS messages and by intercepting these codes through the SS7 service, criminals have free reign to empty funds from your account.

The attacks, reported by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, were confirmed by telecoms company O2 Telefonica although it is not known how many of their customers were affected.

The Rest…HERE

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