Exposing The Flaw In Our Phone System

2024-09-21

[public] 1.34M views, 310K likes, dislikes audio only

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Can you trust your phone? Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial and get 20% off an annual premium subscription.

A huge thank you to Linus Sebastian and the team at Linus Tech Tips - check them out at @LinusTechTips

A massive thank you to Alexandre De Oliveira and Karsten Nohl making this demo possible.

A special thanks to Crofton Black at Lighthouse Reports, Cathal Mc Daid at Enea, and James Hobson at @hacksmith

00:00 I hacked Linus!

00:59 How Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak hacked the telephone network

02:22 Early history of the telephone

07:08 The kidnapping of Sheikha Latifa

08:41 How Signalling System No. 7 works

11:03 Why SS7 is vulnerable to hacking

12:15 How hackers gain access to phones

16:17 How I was able to spy on Linus’ phone

18:09 How hackers can intercept text messages

21:04 How your location can be tracked via SS7

29:03 How to protect your phone from hacking

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References:

Black, C. (2020). Spy companies using Channel Islands to track phones around the world. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism - https://ve42.co/SpyTBIJ

It is dangerously easy to hack the world’s phones via The Economist - https://ve42.co/EconHack

Blake, H. (2023). The Fugitive Princesses of Dubai. The New Yorker - https://ve42.co/DubaiNY

McDaid, C. (2021). How Surveillance Companies Track You Using Mobile Networks. media.ccc.de - https://ve42.co/McDaid2021

Engel, T. (2014). SS7: Locate. Track. Manipulate. media.ccc.de - https://ve42.co/Engel2014

Nohl, K. (2014). Mobile self-defense. media.ccc.de - https://ve42.co/Nohl2014

How Cell Service Actually Works via WendoverProductions - https://ve42.co/CellWendover

How Telephone Phreaking Worked via The 8-Bit Guy - https://ve42.co/8BitGuy

Transmission Lines: Part 1 An Introduction via TheSiGuy - https://ve42.co/TheSiGuy

The Step-By-Step Switch via AT&T Tech Channel - https://ve42.co/SwitchATNT

Hacking Your Phone via 60 Minutes - https://ve42.co/60minHack

Rosenbaum, R. (1971). Secrets of the Little Blue Box. The Esquire Magazine - https://ve42.co/Rosenbaum1971

Black, C. et. al. (2023). Ghost in the network. Lighthouse Reports - https://ve42.co/Black2023

Kerr, D. (2019). The step-by-step telephone switching system. dougkerr.net - https://ve42.co/Kerr2019

Ecall and 2G/3G Network Obsolescence via PFA Plateforme Automobile - https://ve42.co/PFAAuto2021

Images & Video:

All references can be found here: https://ve42.co/PhoneSpyingImageVideo

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Directed by Henry van Dyck

Written by Henry van Dyck

Edited by Laura Mills

Animated by Fabio Albertelli, Ivy Tello, David Szakaly, and Jakub Misiek

Filmed by Derek Muller and Linus Media Group Team

Additional research by Gabe Bean

Produced by Derek Muller, Henry van Dyck, Rob Beasley Spence, Tori Brittain, Emily Lazard, Luke Lewis, Gregor Čavlović, and Emily Zhang

Thumbnail contributions by Ren Hurley and Peter Sheppard

Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images and Storyblocks

Music from Epidemic Sound