Editing SIM card (section)

== Thin SIM==
[[File:GPP SIM interposer.jpg|thumb|A GPP-branded SIM interposer used to circumvent network restrictions on carrier-locked [[iPhone]]s]]
A '''thin SIM''' (or '''overlay SIM''' or '''SIM overlay''') is a very thin device shaped like a SIM card, approximately 120&nbsp;microns ({{frac|200}}&nbsp;inch) thick. It has contacts on its front and back. It is used by placing it on top of a regular SIM card. It provides its own functionality while passing through the functionality of the SIM card underneath. It can be used to bypass the mobile operating network and run custom applications, particularly on non-programmable cell phones.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/IbfG_KSlTD4 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20180124132856/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbfG_KSlTD4 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbfG_KSlTD4|title=Keynote by Ross Anderson at CCS 2016|last=CCS 2016|date=7 November 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Its top surface is a connector that connects to the phone in place of the normal SIM. Its bottom surface is a connector that connects to the SIM in place of the phone. With electronics, it can modify signals in either direction, thus presenting a modified SIM to the phone, and/or presenting a modified phone to the SIM. (It is a similar concept to the [[Game Genie]], which connects between a game console and a game cartridge, creating a modified game). Similar devices have also been developed for iPhones to circumvent SIM card restrictions on carrier-locked models.<ref name="gevey">{{Cite web |title=Gevey SIM Unlocks iPhone 4 on iOS 4.3 |url=https://www.fonearena.com/blog/33593/gevey-sim-unlocks-iphone-4-on-ios-4-3.html |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=www.fonearena.com |archive-date=26 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226031325/https://www.fonearena.com/blog/33593/gevey-sim-unlocks-iphone-4-on-ios-4-3.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2014, [[Equitel]], an MVNO operated by Kenya's [[Equity Bank Kenya Limited|Equity Bank]], announced its intention to begin issuing thin SIMs to customers, raising security concerns by competition, particularly concerning the safety of mobile money accounts. However, after months of security testing and legal hearings before the country's Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Information and Communications, the [[Communications Authority of Kenya]] (CAK) gave the bank the green light to roll out its thin SIM cards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/africas-new-thin-sim-cards-the-line-between-banks-and-telcos-just-got-thinner/|title=Africa's new thin SIM cards: The line between banks and telcos just got thinner&nbsp;– ZDNet|first=Hilary|last=Heuler|website=[[ZDNet]]|access-date=24 November 2018|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502121008/https://www.zdnet.com/article/africas-new-thin-sim-cards-the-line-between-banks-and-telcos-just-got-thinner/|url-status=live}}</ref>