New Delhi: Old phone numbers can be used by someone to gain access to their private information. It is said that when someone's old number gets a new user, the data associated with the old number also becomes accessible to the new user.
The mobile carriers often recycle the old numbers and assign them to a new user.
As the telecom companies do it to stop number exhaustion, this process is not safe for the users, who previously owned the numbers. This can put the users at privacy and security risks.
According to the new findings of Princeton University researchers, the whole act of recycling numbers can put the users at security and privacy risks. The recycled numbers allow new users to access the information of old users.
When a user changes their number, they forget to immediately update their new number in all digital accounts. They might still be using their old number in one of the e-commerce apps.
However, the report by Princeton University revealed that a journalist after getting a new number was bombarded d with texts containing blood test results and spa appointment reservations.
Arvind Narayanan, one of the researchers said, "We obtained 200 recycled numbers for one week and found 19 of them were still receiving security/privacy-sensitive calls and messages (e.g., authentication passcodes, prescription refill reminders). New owners who are unknowingly assigned a recycled number may realize the incentives to exploit upon receiving unsolicited sensitive communication, and become opportunistic adversaries."
The researchers had listed eight possible threats that could arise due to the number recycling. One of the major threats that an old user can be subjected to a phishing attack. Once a number is assigned to a new subscriber, they can phish the subscriber through SMS.
The report stated that subscribers tend to fall for phishing attacks when the messages seem believable. The attacker can also use the number to sign up for various alerts, newsletters, campaigns, and robocalls.
Attackers can also use the recycled number break into profiles linked with the number t online via SMS-authenticated password resets.
The report further stated that they signed up for one prepaid account at each of the two largest US carriers, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile. Both carriers provide an online interface for subscribers to change their phone numbers.
