Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Hackers impede detection of stolen mobile phones

Thiruvananthapuram: The police suspect that a set of highly skilled anonymous hackers are re-programming the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers of stolen mobile phones, thus making it difficult for law enforcers to trace the pilfered handsets. IMEI number, which is unique to every mobile phone, helps cell phone service providers identify stolen devices regardless of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card used in the handsets.

Circle Inspector E.S. Bijumon of the High Tech Crime Inquiry Cell said the expertise for re-configuring IMEI numbers of cell phones was within the reach of hackers. However, the police are yet to identify the persons who use such skills for criminal purposes. This year, the cell helped the police to recover more than 250 stolen sets.

Another official said that about 10 per cent of IMEI numbers in use today were not unique and were re-programmed (hacked) ones. He said handsets stolen from other States were being sold in Kerala and vice versa. Ideally, cell phone network operators across the globe should “black list” the IMEI numbers of stolen handsets to ensure the devices do not work in any region. Such a measure would help deter cell phone thieves, he said.

Bhadran V.K, joint director, Resource Centre for Cyber Forensics, said hackers could re-configure IMEI numbers by tweaking the “read only or flash memories” of mobile phones.

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