Top Democrat demands Biden take action as foreign governments are abusing 'security flaws' on smartphones and tracking Americans and journalists traveling abroad

Authoritarian foreign governments have been able to track Americans and journalists using flaws in cellphone networks for over a decade, a top Democrat revealed.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to President Biden warning him of a long-known flaw in Signaling System 7 (SS7), a protocol used by cellular providers to transmit texts and phone calls between carriers. 

However, the protocol has been known to have flaws for over 10 years. It can be manipulated to reveal customers' locations and even eavesdrop on calls. 

'Surveillance companies and their authoritarian foreign government customers have exploited lax security in U.S. and foreign phone networks for at least a decade to track phones anywhere in the world,' Wyden wrote to Biden in the letter obtained by DailyMail.com.

Hostile nations have 'abused these tools to track Americans in the United States and journalists and dissidents abroad,' he continued.

That threatens 'national security, freedom of the press, and international human rights.'

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to President Biden warning him of a long-known flaw in Signaling System 7 (SS7)

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to President Biden warning him of a flaw in U.S. wireless carrier's protocol that enables foreign governments to track customers' locations in real-time

SS7 surveillance does not require spyware be downloaded on targets' smartphones

The flaw in SS7 does not require spyware to be downloaded on smartphones, but instead it tricks carriers into providing user information directly to the hacker themselves. 

The method of the SS7 surveillance cannot be detected or deterred by popular smartphone makers Apple and Google either, the Democrat warned.

'Whether or not a given person can be surveilled using such services depends entirely on the security of their wireless carrier,' Wyden wrote. 

To protect U.S. government employees from foreign surveillance, Wyden called on Biden to set minimum cybersecurity standards for major wireless services purchased by the federal government. 

'The FCC should exercise its authority to establish minimum cybersecurity requirements for U.S. wireless carriers and aggregators that deliver SS7 and Diameter messages to and from carriers.' 

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC), National Security Agency (NSA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have all acknowledged the surveillance issues regarding SS7.

Additionally, for-hire SS7 surveillance services have appeared across the globe.

Mitto AG, a Swiss company, was accused of offering SS7 tracking services in a 2021, according to Bloomberg.

Wyden wrote in his letter he wants to cut U.S. ties to foreign SS7 surveillance shops.  

To protect U.S. government employees from foreign surveillance, Wyden called on Biden to set minimum cybersecurity standards for major wireless services purchased by the federal government

'Ensure that U.S. government agencies are not giving taxpayer money to surveillance mercenary companies that have enabled human rights abuses,' Wyden requested in his letter. 

The majority of President Biden's cabinet, including Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, were sent the letter as well.