article_snippet: The SIM card that helped revolutionise the mobile industry in the early days of bulky car phones is now approaching The SIM card that helped revolutionise the mobile industry in the early days of bulky car phones 25th birthday.
article_snippet: The University of Cambridge Cambridge said the SIM (stock image) could have been replaced long ago.
article_snippet: The fact is, the SIM (stock image) could have been replaced long ago with a simpler alternative: typing in a user identifier and password directly into the phone is an option - just as we do to access WiFi,' said Dr Markus KuhnThe University of CambridgeCambridge.
article_snippet: Dr Markus Kuhn Dr Markus Kuhn continued: 'the SIM (stock image) cards were a useful feature when SIM cards came onto the market in 1991. '
article_snippet: At the time mobile phones were bulky devices, usually mounted in cars [and] a the SIM (stock image) would help customers quickly and easily transfer customers phone number and contacts from one phone to the next, without the need to type in long identifiers and access codes each time.
article_snippet: Dr Markus Kuhn believes replacing SIMs with passwords or extra software would make it easier to have multiple several pay-as-you-go contracts from different providers on a single phone.
article_snippet: In terms of security, Dr Kuhn explained that SIM cards are also vulnerable to attack.
article_snippet: Gemalto, the Dutch SIM card manufacturer, was reportedly the victim of an NSA and GCHQ attack for example.
article_snippet: Although the firm said that little information was stolen, 'the reality is that SIM cards are now more of a drawback than a benefit,' added Dr Kuhn.
article_snippet: A Global System for Mobile (GSM) network was established in the late 1980s to create a communication standard throughout Europe.
article_snippet: In 1991, German smart-card maker Giesecke & Devrient sold the first 300 SIM cards to Finnish operator Radiolinja.
article_snippet: SIM stands for subscriber identity module, which is the name of the integrated circuits found in the chips.
article_snippet: Dr Kuhn said SIM cards were a useful feature when mobile phones were mounted in cars (pictured) and customers wanted to transfer contacts from one phone to the next.
article_snippet: Meanwhile, app stores use modern authentication technique and these could be used to easily transfer all the functionality of a SIM into the phone using an app. '
article_snippet: All that’s needed is a new standard interface for mobile operating systems such as Android or iOS that would allow software to take over the functions of the SIM, said Dr Kuhn. '
article_snippet: But Dr Kuhn recognises that operators prefer the SIM model because operators can lock customers to operators network, preventing easy access to competitors.
highlights_snippet: Dr Markus Kuhn said the SIM could have been replaced a long time ago .
  