The cell phone in your pocket may be leaving more than just your personal information at risk.  Are Canada’s mobile carriers doing enough to protect both users and critical infrastructure?  This week the Hamilton Spectator published an article I wrote on why Canada’s carriers need to do more to protect us all.

Last September, a research paper published at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev entitled 9-1-1 DDoS: Threat, Analysis and Mitigation caught my attention as I had never considered how a cyberattack on our 911 system might take shape. The paper showed how as few as six thousand phones could take down the 911 system in a state the size of North Carolina.

A group of hijacked phones in an area could be used to make repeated calls to 911 and this attack would lead to an overload of the system that could interrupt service for days. Part of the reason for this is an FCC requirement that all 911 calls must be routed regardless of where they come from. Basically, a cellphone can call 911 even if it’s not an active phone with a cellular plan.

In Canada, the CRTC is currently looking at ways to improve the 911 system and is actually looking at vulnerabilities to ensure we don’t experience a major disruption, but a potential 911 attack is only one possible use case for taking over a group of phones.

Why Our Smartphones Need Hacking Protection
Published By: The Hamilton Spectator
February 5, 2017

Read the full story HERE.