Boosting cyber skills, Iran apparently tried to track US military personnel via phones — report

Iran reportedly attempted to track US military personnel in the Middle East using their cellphones, according to a New York Times report citing Mobile Surveillance Monitor (MSM) researchers. MSM detected a surge in location-requesting signals via SS7 protocols, a 1970s telecommunications technology, at the end of February, coinciding with a joint US-Israel air campaign against Iran. Gary Miller, MSM's founder, indicated these signals targeted local networks occasionally used by US military personnel. Cybersecurity researcher Nikita Shah noted this "signals a step up in sophistication" by Iran. While a US Central Command spokesman declined to detail protective measures, CENTCOM told the Financial Times it took "unprecedented force-protection measures." An unnamed US official, however, dismissed claims of significant tracking data in Iran's targeting as "a departure from the facts."