Is your mobile phone security up to date? If Karsten Nohl is correct it’s probably not. The German scientist told a conference of computer hackers in Berlin that he was trying to expose weaknesses in mobile phone security technology. The German scientist says that he cracked the secret code for approximately 80% of the world’s cell phones.

In theory, if you had the code you could eavesdrop on anyone’s phone call you wished to. Nohl says he hopes that mobile phone operators will upgrade their security measures in light of the secret code being cracked. The Financial Times reports that Nohl was supposed to run a demonstration at a conference of computer hackers but postponed the demonstration to consult with lawyers about the legality of it.

The hacked GSM code could affect some 3 billion people in over 200 countries; it doesn’t however affect 3G networks. The GSM code was developed in 1988; I’d say it’s overdue for an upgrade.