Telecommunications companies are on alert to counteract a newly discovered consumer security risk that lets scammers bypass identity checks for online transactions such as banking, shopping and messaging.

A “perfect storm” of technological progress means a barely used feature of mobile phone networks put in place 19 years ago, can now be used by hackers to get around security protecting systems from Apple, Microsoft, Okta, Signal and other software providers, a report from an Australian information security company said.