Iran reportedly used telecom vulnerabilities to track U.S. military personnel

The Iranian government reportedly exploited vulnerabilities in global telecommunications infrastructure to locate U.S. military personnel during the build-up to and early days of the Iran War, based on information published by TechCrunch.

Iran allegedly abused Signaling System 7 (SS7), a set of protocols fundamental to 2G and 3G networks, to route calls and texts globally. This allowed the regime to track the locations of U.S. military forces stationed in bases and hotels across Iraq, Bahrain, and other Middle Eastern countries, leading to strikes that reportedly caused several injuries. In addition to SS7, Iran also leveraged advertising technology, a common surveillance method, to target and track cellphone users.

These tactics highlight the ongoing risks associated with well-known vulnerabilities in telecommunications systems and everyday advertising technology, which can be exploited for intelligence gathering and military targeting.

Source: TechCrunch