Gemalto SIM card encryption hack: Key questions remain

Summary:A Wednesday press conference will aim to quell fears that the UK and US intelligence agencies have unfettered access to our mobile devices and phone calls.

Billions of SIM cards are said to be affected by the Gemalto hack (Image: CNET)

The Gemalto encryption key "heist" may be one of the biggest breaches of corporate data conducted by an intelligence agency to date.

The attack, first reported by The Intercept, showed how the UK and US intelligence communities stole encryption keys to millions of SIM cards, used by dozens of cellular networks in the US and around the world, for contactless payment systems, biometric passports, and credit and debits cards.

The story was based on documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

In an effort to quell initial fears, the targeted company said in a statement Monday that its initial conclusions suggest its SIM products are "secure," but did not elaborate further.

Gemalto will hold a press conference on Wednesday (10:30am local, 4:30am ET) where we'll discover more. Gemalto is expected to reveal more from its investigation. (We'll have more then.)

These are the questions the company will have to answer.

1. Obama says US government doesn't listen to phone calls. But could it?

Days after the first Snowden leaks landed, Obama declared, "nobody is listening to your telephone calls." (He was, of course, talking about laws preventing the NSA from listening in on American calls.) It was bad enough that there was fear and uncertainty over the phone metadata program, but the Gemalto hack is about as clear as it gets that the NSA was trying to "passively" listen to phone conversations.

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Gemalto SIM card encryption hack: Key questions remain