I don’t trust the CCK over this fake phone switch-off
Listers This is an opinion piece. IN SUMMARYAs long as phones require SIM cards to use, there really is no security implication of using a counterfeit mobile. One is already required by law to register SIM cards, so CCK had better come clean over thisThe Kenya Bureau of Standards is unable to detect fake phones and relies heavily on mobile phone manufacturers, according to the Business Daily. Ladies and gentlemen, Kenya is facing a plague of regulatory bodies receiving assistance from those they are meant to police.Already, two companies associated with phone manufacturers have materialised to recycle dead phones. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre Limited is working in tandem with Samsung to recycle counterfeit phones, which will now be classified as e-waste.Nokia has a recycling drop-off point for unloved phones. Both operations recycle phones regardless of whether they are genuine or counterfeit. The furnace is the great equaliser for the electronic dead; they all go in together for cremation, regardless of the brand they carried in their former lives.I have a feeling that these counterfeits will be disembowelled for their parts, then electronically reincarnated as branded CCK-approved phones. http://www.nation.co.ke/Features/DN2/I+dont+trust+the+CCK+over+this+fake+pho...
For them to switch of a device, they must have hacked into them, and that would be mean CCK have a very good malware and an uber zombie network. They only thing they can do is to bar them from the networks, not switch off. ./Chucks On 9/30/12, Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga@hotmail.com> wrote:
Listers This is an opinion piece. IN SUMMARYAs long as phones require SIM cards to use, there really is no security implication of using a counterfeit mobile. One is already required by law to register SIM cards, so CCK had better come clean over thisThe Kenya Bureau of Standards is unable to detect fake phones and relies heavily on mobile phone manufacturers, according to the Business Daily. Ladies and gentlemen, Kenya is facing a plague of regulatory bodies receiving assistance from those they are meant to police.Already, two companies associated with phone manufacturers have materialised to recycle dead phones. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre Limited is working in tandem with Samsung to recycle counterfeit phones, which will now be classified as e-waste.Nokia has a recycling drop-off point for unloved phones. Both operations recycle phones regardless of whether they are genuine or counterfeit. The furnace is the great equaliser for the electronic dead; they all go in together for cremation, regardless of the brand they carried in their former lives.I have a feeling that these counterfeits will be disembowelled for their parts, then electronically reincarnated as branded CCK-approved phones. http://www.nation.co.ke/Features/DN2/I+dont+trust+the+CCK+over+this+fake+pho...
-- -- Gichuki John Ndirangu, C.E.H , C.P.T.P, O.S.C.P I.T Security Analyst and Penetration Tester jgichuki at inbox d0t com {FORUM}http://lists.my.co.ke/pipermail/security/ http://chuksjonia.blogspot.com/
On Sun, Sep 30, 2012 at 11:32 PM, Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga@hotmail.com> wrote:
Listers
This is an opinion piece.
IN SUMMARY
As long as phones require SIM cards to use, there really is no security implication of using a counterfeit mobile. One is already required by law to register SIM cards, so CCK had better come clean over this
Really? First, barring of services does not equate to "switching off", unfortunately, this term was coined and has now taken precedence over the real meaning. For fully unique identification you require a MSISDN (international format number), IMSI (which identifies the SIM) and IMEI. Devices with fake IMEIs do present a security risk because they cannot be uniquely identified.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards is unable to detect fake phones and relies heavily on mobile phone manufacturers, according to the Business Daily.
Again, really? Business Daily is now a source of expert opinion? The IMEIdb is maintained by the GSMA, an independent body.
Ladies and gentlemen, Kenya is facing a plague of regulatory bodies receiving assistance from those they are meant to police.
[...snipped for brevity]
I have a feeling that these counterfeits will be disembowelled for their parts, then electronically reincarnated as branded CCK-approved phones.
If they're reincarnated with valid IMEI numbers, then so be it. I'm wondering why there are such reactions to this move, but I'd like to give one simple example why it should be enforced. Why do we bother registering valid IMEIs so that stolen phones don't get service? Regards, Steve
the fake phones use software incompatible with most mainstream service providers. They communicate with the network but remain an ' unknown device'. Each device communicates a series algorithms to the phone network telling location, through the towers its connected to, phone id, sim id, to enable things like charging for call and other such integral things. unknown devices make it very difficult to do this. Even more important, they cannot be tracked. some cant even do M-pesa. the implications are huge.
Nokia Duplicate IMEIs complicate Counterfeit phones switch off <http://nairobitech.blogspot.com/2012/09/nokia-duplicate-imeis-complicate.html>
Well, This should be easy. Let the phones be barred. The owners can then go to Nokia Approved Technical Centres and get their phones verified and exchanged if genuine. Nokia already imported tonnes of handsets into the country to capitalize on the barring action. In the same breath, they should compensate those who are victims of their mess. Then this word "switch off" - who approved it's usage in this process? It's blatantly wrong!!! I wouldn't be surprised it's the 4th Estate to blame. On Mon, Oct 1, 2012 at 11:04 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:
Nokia Duplicate IMEIs complicate Counterfeit phones switch off <http://nairobitech.blogspot.com/2012/09/nokia-duplicate-imeis-complicate.html>
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participants (6)
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Dennis Kioko -
Gichuki John Chuksjonia -
Grace Githaiga -
Odhiambo Washington -
Peter Wakaba -
Steve Muchai