How easy is a SIM swap hack and how does one guard against it?

Despite the emergence of cybersecurity infrastructure, the online individuality inactive faces galore risks, including those related to the hacks of one’s telephone numbers.

In aboriginal July, LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino became 1 of the latest victims of a SIM swap attack, which allowed hackers to concisely instrumentality implicit his Twitter.

And... we're backmost in. This was fundamentally my beingness for the past 24 hours. Luckily we saw hack instantly and the conflict began pic.twitter.com/pjrkMfQ2vT

— Bryan Pellegrino (@PrimordialAA) July 5, 2023

“My conjecture is that idiosyncratic grabbed my badge retired of the trash and someway was capable to instrumentality a rep into utilizing it arsenic a signifier of ID for the SIM swap portion I was leaving Collision,” Pellegrino wrote soon aft having his Twitter relationship back.

“It was ‘Bryan Pellegrino — speaker’ conscionable your mean insubstantial league badge,” Pellegrino told Cointelegraph.

The incidental involving Pellegrino’s mishap whitethorn pb to users assuming that performing a SIM swap hack is arsenic casual arsenic conscionable grabbing someone’s badge. Cointelegraph has reached retired to immoderate cryptocurrency information firms to find retired whether that’s the case.

What is simply a SIM swap hack? How large is it?

A SIM swap hack is simply a signifier of individuality theft wherever attackers take implicit a victim’s telephone number, allowing them to summation entree to slope accounts, recognition cards oregon crypto accounts.

In 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received much than 1,600 SIM swapping complaints involving losses of much than $68 million. This represented a 400% summation successful the fig of complaints received successful the 3 anterior years, indicating that SIM swapping is “definitely connected the rise,” CertiK’s manager of information operations Hugh Brooks told Cointelegraph.

“If determination is nary determination distant from SMS-based 2FA and telecommunications providers bash not assistance their information standards, we are apt to spot attacks proceed to grow,” Brooks stated.

According to SlowMist main accusation information serviceman (CISO) 23pds, SIM swapping is presently not excessively widespread, but it has a important imaginable to emergence further successful the adjacent future. He stated:

“As the popularity of Web3 grows and attracts much radical into the industry, the likelihood of SIM swapping attacks besides increases owed to its comparatively little method requirements.”

23pds mentioned a fewer cases involving SIM swap hacks successful crypto implicit the past fewer years. In October 2021, Coinbase officially disclosed that hackers stole crypto from astatine slightest 6,000 customers owed to a 2FA breach. Previously, British Hacker Joseph O’Connor was indicted successful 2019 for stealing astir $800,000 successful crypto via aggregate SIM swap hacks.

How hard is it to execute a SIM swap hack?

According to CertiK’s exec, SIM swap hacking tin often beryllium done with accusation that is publically disposable oregon tin beryllium obtained done societal engineering.

“Overall, SIM swapping mightiness beryllium seen arsenic a little obstruction to introduction for attackers erstwhile compared to the much technically demanding attacks similar astute declaration exploits oregon speech hacks,” Brooks said.

SlowMist’s 23pds agreed that SIM swapping doesn’t necessitate high-level method skills. He besides noted that specified SIM swaps are “prevalent adjacent successful the Web2 world,” truthful it's “not surprising” to spot it look successful the Web3 situation arsenic well.

“It is often easier to execute, with societal engineering being utilized to deceive applicable operators oregon lawsuit work personnel,” 23pds said.

How to forestall SIM swapping hacks?

As SIM swap attacks are often seen arsenic non-demanding successful presumption of hackers’ method skills, users indispensable wage owed diligence to their identity information to forestall specified hacks.

The halfway extortion measurement from a SIM swap hack is to restrict the usage of SIM card-based methods for 2FA verification. Instead of relying connected methods similar SMS, 1 should amended usage apps similar Google Authenticator oregon Authy, Hacken’s Budorin noted.

SlowMist CISO 23pds besides mentioned much strategies similar multi-factor authentication and enhanced relationship verification similar further passwords. He besides powerfully recommended users to found beardown PIN oregon passwords for SIM cards oregon mobile telephone accounts.

Related: Over $765K worthy of NFTs stolen aft SIM swap onslaught connected Gutter Cat Gang

Another measurement to debar SIM swapping is to decently support idiosyncratic information similar name, address, telephone fig and day of birth. SlowMist CISO besides recommended scrutinizing online accounts for immoderate anomalous activity.

Platforms should beryllium besides liable for promoting harmless 2FA practices, CertiK’s Brooks stressed. For example, firms tin necessitate further verification earlier allowing changes to relationship accusation and amended users astir the risks of SIM swapping.

Additional reporting by Cointelegraph exertion Felix Ng.

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