3G and 4G USB Modems Are Security Threat, Black Hat Presenter Says

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday March 16, 2013 @03:33AM from the concrete-blocks-are-a-security-threat dept.

alphadogg writes "The vast majority of 3G and 4G USB modems handed out by mobile operators to their customers are manufactured by a handful of companies and run insecure software, according to two security researchers from Russia. Researchers Nikita Tarakanov and Oleg Kupreev analyzed the security of 3G/4G USB modems obtained from Russian operators for the past several months. Their findings were presented this week at the Black Hat Europe 2013 security conference in Amsterdam. Most 3G/4G modems used in Russia, Europe, and probably elsewhere in the world, are made by Chinese hardware manufacturers Huawei and ZTE, and are branded with the mobile operators' logos and trademarks, Tarakanov said. Because of this, even if the research was done primarily on Huawei modems from Russian operators, the results should be relevant in other parts of the world as well, he said."

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Misleading Headline (go figure, its slashdot) by utkonos · 2013-03-16 05:14 · Score: 0, Flamebait

The 3G and 4G products here in the US are made by Samsung, Novatel, Sierra Wireless, and others. None that I could find were made by Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE.

This article only applies to Russia where those things are even available. Headline should read "Russian Mobile Providers' 3G and 4G USB Modems Are Security Threat, Black Hat Presenter Says"

But with that headline, nobody would care or read the article.