US and British spies 'hacked world's largest sim card maker'

Hack gave GCHQ and NSA access to billions of calls and mobile data, according to new Snowden leak

Mobile phones sim cards
(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

US and British spies hacked into the world's largest sim card manufacturer to gain access to billions of mobile phone voice calls and data around the world, according to the latest leak from National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden.

A special unit, including operatives from both the NSA and its British equivalent GCHQ, hacked into Gemalto, a Netherlands sim card manufacturer. The firm produces two billion sim cards a year for AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint and around 450 wireless network providers globally.

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