USSD attack not limited to Samsung Android devices, can also kill SIM cards

The story, "USSD attack not limited to Samsung Android devices, can also kill SIM cards," posted on the wire on Thursday, wrongly stated the dates at paragraphs 12 and 16.

The story has been corrected on the wire and the paragraphs now read:

Paragraph 12

This is possible because of a MMI code that allows changing a SIM card's PIN (Personal Identity Number) number using the PUK (Personal Unblocking Key), Collin Mulliner, a mobile security researcher who works in the SECLAB at Northeastern University in Boston, said Wednesday via email.(

Paragraph 16

Samsung has already fixed the USSD/MMI code execution issue for Galaxy S III devices. "We would like to assure customers that the recent security issue affecting the Galaxy S III has already been addressed in a software update," Samsung said Wednesday in a statement via email. "We believe this issue was isolated to early production devices, and devices currently available are not affected by this issue. To ensure customers are fully protected, Samsung advises checking for software updates through the 'Settings: About device: Software update' menu. We are in the process of evaluating other Galaxy models."