A growing threat to mobile security is hitting cell phones across the country.

An article published this week in the The New York Times says hackers have been deceiving some of the world’s largest mobile service providers and transferring phone numbers and account information to a device hackers have in their possession.

Once hackers take control of a mobile number, they have the ability to reset passwords for Facebook, Twitter and Google accounts that use cellphones as backup. For example, if a hacker clicks “forgot password” on a login page and sends a reset code to the commandeered cell phone, they can take control of accounts in the time it takes to send a text message.

According to the Times, the attackers are targeting people who discuss owning virtual currencies on their social media accounts. But it’s not limited to them.

Lorrie Cranor, professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University joins the show to walk through the new form of mobile hacking.

What steps do you take to protect your mobile account information?

Guests:

Lorrie Cranor, professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University; former chief technologist at the Federal Trade Commission; she tweets

Joseph M. Lawlor, managing director in the Cyber Defense practice at K2 Intelligence with a focus on privacy, data security, compliance and proactive defense