Hackers crawled Canadian streets with SMS blasters causing 13 million network disruptions


Authorities in Canada have disclosed details of a mobile cyber operation that relied on SMS blasters mounted inside vehicles moving through urban areas.

Three suspects drove around downtown Toronto with these hidden devices running in their cars, impersonating cell towers. The Toronto Police Service confirmed that this marked the first operation of its kind ever recorded in the country, with the campaign causing 13 million network disruptions in total. Investigators say the devices mimicked legitimate cellular base stations, forcing nearby phones to connect automatically due to stronger signal proximity.

Read more…
Source : TechRadar News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Brazil probes emergency warning system after nationwide rogue alert

    June 22, 2026

    The Brazilian National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense (SEDEC) and Federal Police (PF) are investigating a suspected hack of the country’s emergency alert system after an unauthorized “extreme” alert pinged devices across the country. Defesa Civil Nacional confirmed that its dispatch platform, often used to inform the public about severe weather events, was taken offline in ...

  • CVE-2026-0826: How an Old Bug Can Feed AI-Powered Impersonation

    June 1, 2026

    Rapid7 Senior Principal Security Researcher Stephen Fewer discovered CVE-2026-0826, a critical unauthenticated stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability affecting multiple HP Poly VoIP devices. If you’ve been around vulnerability research long enough, the bug class here is going to feel very familiar. And interestingly enough, that’s exactly why it deserves attention. These older exploitation primitives never really went ...

  • Police arrest SMS blaster crew that sent malicious messages to thousands across Toronto

    May 7, 2026

    Police have arrested and brought 44 charges against three men for allegedly operating an SMS blaster in downtown Toronto. The scheme, which began in November 2025, is the “first known instance” of an SMS blaster operating in Canada, according to the police report. In a statement, the Toronto Police Service said it believes tens of thousands of ...

  • Hackers crawled Canadian streets with SMS blasters causing 13 million network disruptions

    May 1, 2026

    Authorities in Canada have disclosed details of a mobile cyber operation that relied on SMS blasters mounted inside vehicles moving through urban areas. Three suspects drove around downtown Toronto with these hidden devices running in their cars, impersonating cell towers. The Toronto Police Service confirmed that this marked the first operation of its kind ever recorded ...

  • Attackers use hidden SMS and signalling systems to track targets’ location

    April 24, 2026

    Security researchers have just unveiled details of two covert surveillance campaigns that exploit weaknesses in the global telecom infrastructure. In a report published on Thursday, Citizen Lab explains that attackers abuse the signalling systems mobile operators use to support roaming, route messages, and locate devices on the network. The weaknesses were used to track certain subscribers ...

  • US intel officials scramble to keep surveillance law running amid Iran war tensions

    April 13, 2026

    With just days until a powerful surveillance law lapses, US national security officials are scrambling to prepare for potential blind spots in intelligence collection amid the US’ delicate ceasefire with Iran, current and former officials told CNN. Some communications carriers that manage data for the surveillance program have privately warned the Trump administration they will cease ...