Tag Archives | security

No, You Can’t Lose Your Mobile Credits By Answering a Phone Call

By Rami on December 28, 2017 in Telecom

I’ve seen several Facebook posts and even received numerous voice notes on WhatsApp over the last few days warning people from answering phone calls from numbers starting with “+7” or “007”, because they can steal all your credits if you a have a prepaid line or overcharge you in case you’re on a postpaid plan, and even get hold of all the data stored on your phone…

Now I know a thing or two about GSM networks and let me tell you this, THE ABOVE IS ALL WRONG. There’s no way someone can steal your money or phone stored data by simply making you answer a phone call, it is probably possible in movies but this is not how “smartphone hacking” works in real life.

In order to transfer credits to another phone line you should input a special command on your phone or send an SMS I guess. On the other hand, the protocol you phone uses to make a phone call is meant to transport voice data only, so a calling party can never send your phone special commands to execute over a voice call, and is also never able to view or steal your phone data.

However, some people are indeed losing money and it’s because they are sometimes calling back these numbers when noticing a missed call. The reason is simply because these numbers are premium rate numbers so calling them may cost up to $20 or $30 in some countries (same applies for sending an SMS). As for data theft, it is only possible by tricking you into visiting some malicious link or installing a malicious app.

To protect yourself against such incidents just make sure to stick to the following:

Never call back a suspicious number.
Avoid installing apps from outside Google Play for Android or App Store for iOS.
Avoid clicking on links you receive by e-mail or messaging platforms from unknown senders.

So there you go… there’s absolutely no need to panic if you get a call from these numbers, just be careful what you do with your smartphone.

Volatile Cedar – A Cyber Espionage Operation by Lebanese Hackers

By Rami on April 2, 2015 in Lebanon

governmnet-cyber-espionage-conspiracy1

Check Point Software Technologies, an Israeli IT Security firm, reported a couple of days ago the unveiling of a cyber espionage campaign that hit more than 10 countries including Lebanon, Israel, USA, Canada, UK, Japan, Peru, and Turkey, and traced back to Lebanese hackers with possible ties to some active political group (hinting at Hezbollah).

The operation was called “Volatile Cedar”, and experts claimed it has been ongoing since 2012 with targets being carefully chosen and ranging from defense contractors to telecom and media companies. Attackers infiltrated these organizations by mainly compromising their web servers and planting malware on them, and then waiting for server administrators to simply plug in some USB devices which led to infecting other servers and workstations. Check Point however did not provide additional information about neither the affected organization nor the nature of data that has been stolen.

I personally found the news quite surprising because such big espionage operations are usually sponsored by governments, and we all know we don’t have a cyber bureau in charge of similar things here. So one cannot but admire Hezbollah for their capabilities if it was really them behind it, and at the same time feel worried about some big firms being infiltrated like banks and our two mobile operators!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Volatile Cedar operation, you can download this document by Check Point with a lot of interesting technical information about the used malware.

Security forces now seizing tomatoes from protesters

By Rami on July 1, 2013 in Lebanon

This is funny! The security forces seemed to have learned from last time and were apparently seizing tomatoes from protesters today.

Kaak kaak!

By Rami on May 7, 2013 in What the fuck!

To my knowledge, there’s some order to all security forces forbidding them from using small motorbikes when wearing their uniform, to stop giving a bad image about them to the society. It’s about time it gets enforced because this guy is taking it a bit further!

via WTF! Only in Lebanon

Kidnapping is the new profitable business in Lebanon

By Rami on March 4, 2013 in Lebanon

mokdad clan

Check out this interesting report in Al-Safir today about the recent kidnapping incidents that happened over the last year in Lebanon. So far, the responsible groups for these kidnappings were able to collect more than $16 million out of 19 operations, moreover one gangster is even coordinating these operations from inside Roumieh Prison where he’s arrested!

And it doesn’t seem like kidnapping for ransom is going to stop anytime soon, due to the fact that the kidnappers belong to well known large crime families in Bekaa, so arresting few members will not eventually put an end to the whole thing. In addition, these groups just seem to have a strong appetite for making big money.

Everybody can hack into your Blink wireless router!

By Rami on February 28, 2013 in Lebanon

It’s not a secret anymore that the routers you get from Ogero once you subscribe to their Blink DSL service can easily be hacked since their WiFi password is very easy to retrieve.

First of all, Blink routers are by default secured using WEP encryption which is very weak and can be cracked using wireless penetration tools. Second, they can easily be identified since they all have an SSID (network name) following this pattern “BlinkXXXXXX” where XXXXXX is a 6 character code, and this isn’t just any random code as it is derived from the router’s serial number. Unfortunately, the same applies to the WiFi password, it isn’t generated randomly but rather derived from the router’s serial number as well.

Logically speaking, if you encounter a Blink network and were able to reverse the operation in a way that lets you guess the router’s serial number from the 6 character code in the SSID, retrieving the password would then be a piece of cake since it can be derived from this serial. That’s basically what some people have been doing for a while now since several tools are already available online allowing you enter the 6 character code once you stumble across a Blink network, and gives you the password in a few seconds.

Up until lately, I was thinking the usage of these tools was somehow minimal and limited to techies since you will rarely find them on Lebanese website, until I lately came across this new Android application called “Hack Blink” with a download count of over 10,000 and rapidly increasing.

Using the application is very straight forward, you enter the code and wait for the password, I tried it and it does work. So if you have a blink subscription, be sure someone around you will soon or later have this application and eventually start consuming your bandwidth.

Fortunately, there is a way to stop people from doing that by reconfiguring your router using this manual I found on Ogero’s website (which applies to Thomson routers). I strongly recommend you use that manual to change your SSID and setting the encryption algorithm to WPA2, in addition to of course changing the default wireless password. If you encounter any difficulty, make sure to either contact their customer support or just head to the nearest Ogero office in order for some support person to help you do it.

Best solution is definitely for Ogero to stop ordering their routers to be configured this way!

Thanks to @ZuZ for the information he previously provided in this post.

Update:

@AbirGhattas just informed me “Hack Blink” was removed from the Play Store. I still recommend you change your router’s default settings.

Unknown lady blocks Hamra street!

By Rami on January 23, 2013 in Lebanon

According to this Facebook page, some unknown lady driving a black BMW with tinted windows in Hamra today afternoon, refused to stop for the police who apparently wanted to check the tint license, and decided to block the whole street when he insisted!

No matter how important this lady is, it would be a real shame if the ISF let her get away with what she did. She cannot cause people to get stuck in a traffic jam for no reason except that she thinks she’s above the law, especially in a business center area like Hamra. I hope no one was being rushed to a nearby hospital and ended up getting stuck there!

Thanks to @ghazayel

Hunters in Bekaa humiliate policemen

By Rami on January 20, 2013 in What the fuck!

I really hope this is a staged video…

The information branch wants your passwords!

By Rami on December 3, 2012 in Lebanon

According to this article in Lebanon Files today, it seems that the intelligence-oriented Information Branch has asked the ministry of telecommunication for all SMSs that has been exchanged over the two months that preceded the assassination of General Wissam Al-Hassan back in October 19th, in addition to our internet accounts and Facebook passwords!

ذكرت صحيفة “السفير” ان شهية الأجهزة الأمنية ولا سيما شعبة المعلومات، فُتحت من جديد على “داتا” شبكة الاتصالات الخلوية في لبنان، مع فارق خطير هذه المرة، تمثل في عدم الاكتفاء بطلب تسليمها حركة الاتصالات، كما كان يحصل في السابق، ليصل الأمر إلى مستوى غير مسبوق، في خطورته وتداعياته، مع طلب الشعبة الاطلاع على محتوى كل الرسائل النصية الخلوية المتبادلة بين جميع المواطنين، على مدى الشهرين اللذين سبقا اغتيال اللواء وسام الحسن، إلى جانب الحصول على كلمات المرور (باسورد) لشبكات الإنترنت والفايسبوك التي يستعملها اللبنانيون.

وفي هذا السياق , أكد وزير الاتصالات نقولا صحناوي للصحيفة ان الوزارة تلقت طلباً بالحصول على محتوى الرسائل النصية وكلمات المرور (باسورد) لشبكات الإنترنت والفايسبوك العائدة إلى اللبنانيين، على مساحة كل لبنان، محذراً من أن الموافقة على هذه الاستباحة ستجر المزيد لاحقاً.

وأكد أنه رفع هذا الطلب إلى الأمانة العامة لمجلس الوزراء من أجل درسه، “مع توصية من قبله برفضه ورده، آخذاً على الهيئة القضائية المختصة بالنظر في طلبات الأجهزة الأمنية أنها تكتفي بتسجيل موقف عابر، بينما المطلوب أن تكون أكثر فعالية في صون الدستور وحقوق المواطنين.

It’s weird that the Information Branch is asking for our Facebook password since that means ISPs in Lebanon are actually keeping a log of all passwords we input! Anyway, I hope the government rejects this request and instead agfrees on supplying data related to specific people and during a reasonable time frame.

Is the economic situation really that bad in Lebanon?

By Rami on October 30, 2012 in Lebanon

Looks like news about businesses closing or facing troubles are on the rise now. People were surprised to read about the closure of Buddha Bar in Downtown Beirut last week due to the economic and security situation in the country, and today, I just came across this article in Al-Akhbar about Khoury Home facing some difficulties even though it controls a major share of the household products market in Lebanon.

Apparently, due to the decrease in sales and increase in payable to large suppliers, the Khoury family has entered in negotiations with one of their partners to sell their share in Khoury Home. You can read more about it here.

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