As hacking has reached professional levels in the fields of internet and computers, we have a new threat around. Interception of our phone calls and messages is the thing that’s ‘in’ among those who put eavesdropping first. The reasons can be political, social, security (by companies like Global Security Solutions and Homeland Security Strategies) or personal. What matters is how the task is achieved, or better, how the job is done. There are various methods that are used. First we have phone cloning where the interceptor disguises as the receiver and receives the data, be it text or voice. Later he forwards it to the receiver. This is done by making a copy of the SIM card. Proximity of both parties to a nearby tower can lead to easy interceptions. To get this to work, you should have a decryption algorithm to decode the SIM card’s unique address. Also, you need to physically access that phone. This can be very risky and painstaking and above all, it’s the most commonly used technique and can get you in deep trouble if you get caught. Another working technique for hacking into phone communications is by using certain illegal firmware that can cause your phone to pick up broadcasts from any other phone that is at a suitable proximity from the mobile station.

Additionally, knowledge of the service provider is a must. Basically, this turns your phone into some kind of radio receptor that can pick up incoming requests at random from all senders, at a certain frequency. Something like what your Bluetooth enabled phone may do with loads of senders all around. Companies that use this for law enforcement have around $ 1million to blow off on such systems. But at the end of the day, they achieve pretty much the same as what a geek sitting in front of his PC can, save a few more victims.