You might know that if a hacker has nothing more than your phone number, then he or she can listen into and record your calls, read your texts, or track your location, but does your grandma know it? That’s what I liked about a 60 Minutes phone hacking segment; it can reach non-security minded audiences who may have thought such a hack could only happen in movies.

If you use a mobile phone, then you use Signaling System Seven, or SS7; “Every person with a cellphone needs SS7 to call or text each other,” 60 Minutes explained. “The SS7 network is the heart of the worldwide mobile phone system. Phone companies use SS7 to exchange billing information. Billions of calls and text messages travel through its arteries daily. It is also the network that allows phones to roam.”

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