Exposing The Flaw In Our Phone System

Can you trust your phone? Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial and get 20% off an annual premium subscription.

A huge thank you to Linus Sebastian and the team at Linus Tech Tips - check them out at @LinusTechTips

A massive thank you to Alexandre De Oliveira and Karsten Nohl making this demo possible.

A special thanks to Crofton Black at Lighthouse Reports, Cathal Mc Daid at Enea, and James Hobson at @hacksmith

00:00 I hacked Linus!
00:59 How Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak hacked the telephone network
02:22 Early history of the telephone
07:08 The kidnapping of Sheikha Latifa
08:41 How Signalling System No. 7 works
11:03 Why SS7 is vulnerable to hacking
12:15 How hackers gain access to phones
16:17 How I was able to spy on Linus’ phone
18:09 How hackers can intercept text messages
21:04 How your location can be tracked via SS7
29:03 How to protect your phone from hacking

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References:
Black, C. (2020). Spy companies using Channel Islands to track phones around the world. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism - https://ve42.co/SpyTBIJ
It is dangerously easy to hack the world’s phones via The Economist - https://ve42.co/EconHack
Blake, H. (2023). The Fugitive Princesses of Dubai. The New Yorker - https://ve42.co/DubaiNY
McDaid, C. (2021). How Surveillance Companies Track You Using Mobile Networks. media.ccc.de - https://ve42.co/McDaid2021
Engel, T. (2014). SS7: Locate. Track. Manipulate. media.ccc.de - https://ve42.co/Engel2014
Nohl, K. (2014). Mobile self-defense. media.ccc.de - https://ve42.co/Nohl2014
How Cell Service Actually Works via WendoverProductions - https://ve42.co/CellWendover
How Telephone Phreaking Worked via The 8-Bit Guy - https://ve42.co/8BitGuy
Transmission Lines: Part 1 An Introduction via TheSiGuy - https://ve42.co/TheSiGuy
The Step-By-Step Switch via AT&T Tech Channel - https://ve42.co/SwitchATNT
Hacking Your Phone via 60 Minutes - https://ve42.co/60minHack
Rosenbaum, R. (1971). Secrets of the Little Blue Box. The Esquire Magazine - https://ve42.co/Rosenbaum1971
Black, C. et. al. (2023). Ghost in the network. Lighthouse Reports - https://ve42.co/Black2023
Kerr, D. (2019). The step-by-step telephone switching system. dougkerr.net - https://ve42.co/Kerr2019
Ecall and 2G/3G Network Obsolescence via PFA Plateforme Automobile - https://ve42.co/PFAAuto2021

Images & Video:
All references can be found here: https://ve42.co/PhoneSpyingImageVideo

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Directed by Henry van Dyck
Written by Henry van Dyck
Edited by Laura Mills
Animated by Fabio Albertelli, Ivy Tello, David Szakaly, and Jakub Misiek
Filmed by Derek Muller and Linus Media Group Team
Additional research by Gabe Bean
Produced by Derek Muller, Henry van Dyck, Rob Beasley Spence, Tori Brittain, Emily Lazard, Luke Lewis, Gregor Čavlović, and Emily Zhang
Thumbnail contributions by Ren Hurley and Peter Sheppard

Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images and Storyblocks
Music from Epidemic Sound