Wiretapping with Mobile Phones
The Guardian Unlimited has a special report on the privacy (or rather, the anti-privacy) features of mobile phones in Europe. As technical experts have long known, these little buggers have the ability to pervasively monitor their users as they walk around, reporting location and calls.
Recently I spoke at the Department of Homeland Security’s Privacy Advisory Committee. During that talk, I said that one of the things we would be able to do in the future is to remotely turn on the microphone of mobile phones to wiretap rooms without people’s knowledge.
Well, wouldn’t you know — the cell phone industry (at least in Europe) is ahead of me. According to the report in The Guardian:
According to a report in the Financial Times, the operators (under instructions from the authorities) can remotely install software onto a handset to activate the microphone even when the user is not making a call.
I’m sorry that I don’t have the original reference to the Financial Times article. However, a few moment’s reflection will reveal to any sophisticated technologist that this sort of attack is trivial as long as the phone has the ability for remote software install, and as long as the remote software that’s installed can execute call features.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.
Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.
Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch
Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.
How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets
When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.