Phone software bug 'eavesdrops and makes premium calls'

A software bug can enable scammers to eavesdrop on phone conversations and make high-cost calls on other people's lines, security experts have shown.

The problem affects voice-over-internet-protocol (Voip) phones, commonly used by businesses.
Just by running a couple of lines of code on a website visited by the phone user, the researchers demonstrated how premium-rate calls could be made.
A security expert said such bugs could make "millions" for the perpetrators.
By exploiting the fact that Voip phones and desktop computers are connected to the same internet network at many organisations, attackers are often able to access the phones themselves and operate them without the owner becoming aware.
"It's incredibly easy to do," said security researcher Per Thorsheim, who was involved in the demonstration by fellow researcher Paul Moore.

'Pay to be eavesdropped'

Mr Thorsheim explained that the phone could be compromised if the user visited a web page containing a couple of lines of Javascript web code
This code was designed to launch the attack on a device made by phone hardware manufacturer Snom.
"It will charge you a pound a minute and I will listen to whatever is being said close to your phone - you will be paying me to be eavesdropped," he told the BBC.
Mr Thorsheim added that it was relatively easy to update the phone's security settings to prevent this.
However, he pointed out that most companies would probably not go to that trouble, as the phones operated perfectly well without making the security changes.

Prof Alan Woodward, a security expert at the University of Surrey, said it was a "significant problem" and pointed out that by using online tools he was able to find many examples of phones that could be accessed using the method.
"The one we do know where it's being used a lot is premium-rate scams," he told the BBC.
"They use your phone to dial a premium-rate number. There's a lot of that going on - we're talking millions being made out of that."

Widespread issue

The practice of using phone lines paid for by companies to make expensive calls for little or no fee is thought to be increasingly common, according to research by security consultancy Nettitude.
In a report last year, it said that the UK was particularly badly affected.
Prof Woodward said the issue was similar to other flaws found in internet-connected devices and warned that with the rise of the Internet of Things, similar tricks were likely to become more and more common.
"It's a huge wake-up call to anybody who's building devices with embedded software," he said.
A spokeswoman for Snom said that the firm was investigating the issue.

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