Remember This? Conversations Recorded Even When Phones Turned Off.

[Kurovski]

I wonder how much of this goes on? Any other devices, webcam speakers, etc? From 2006...

"Cell phone users, beware. The FBI can listen to everything you say, even when the cell phone is turned off. A recent court ruling in a case against the Genovese crime family revealed that the FBI has the ability from a remote location to activate a cell phone and turn its microphone into a listening device that transmits to an FBI listening post, a method known as a "roving bug." Experts say the only way to defeat it is to remove the cell phone battery. "The FBI can access cell phones and modify them remotely without ever having to physically handle them," James Atkinson, a counterintelligence security consultant, told ABC News. "Any recently manufactured cell phone has a built-in tracking device, which can allow eavesdroppers to pinpoint someone’s location to within just a few feet,"




http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2006/12/can_you_hear_me/

[Arctic Dave]

1. Why do you think they need all that digital storage space.

A couple emails and text doesn't take up that much cyberspace.

[frazzled]

2. Oh, it's worse than that

They can actually remotely implant a chip in your brain, without your ever knowing it, and "listen" in on what you are thinking ... even at night, when you are just dreaming. Yes, they can spy on your dreams and possibly imprison you for bad ones.

C'mon, folks. Yes, they may have the technological ability to track your cell phone even when it is not on ... if you are a member of the Genovese crime family and they get a warrant to do it. Just like in the old days, when they wanted to take down a Mob boss or drug smuggler. You did watch the French Connection, didn't you?

But I sincerely doubt there are a half-billion Popeye Doyles available in the government to listen to the billions of calls that transpire every day in this country. They neither have the manpower nor are they interested.

It's getting kind of embarrassing here.

[Kurovski]

3. I think laws were changed in the recent past.

All telecoms given blanket immunity. That's for one.

You bet your arse it's embarrassing.

Anything goes.

[frazzled]

5. You'd better stop posting here now

You know they can read your posts at any time.

[Kurovski]

7. And as a plumber, I can plant a camera in your bathroom.

Right next to the terlet.

What's your point?

[IdaBriggs]

29. I know you are just being snarky, but I think this second one is a little rude.

I realize you are attempting to minimize and negate the concerns being addressed, and sometimes dark humor works, but "You'd better stop posting here now" is really skirting the edges of less-than-polite, in my opinion.

I do not think this is "alert worthy", just a friendly note to remind you that sometimes "biting wit" is, well, biting.

[thesquanderer]

18. No Popeye Doyles required, it's simpler than that

For people they want to track this way, they could use voice recognition software to turn the conversations into transcribed, archived, searchable text using no manpower at all. Heck, even you and I can get our voicemails forwarded to us as transcribed emails, it costs nothing.

It is easier than ever for the government to track and record us in all kinds of ways, maintaining perpetual databases that go back as far as they want. It all again comes down to whether they are doing this only with warrants, where the need has been independently justified, or if they are doing this warrantlessly, in which case the only limitation is storage capacity. And really, that's not much of an issue either...

http://www.npr.org/2013/06/10/190160772/amid-data-controversy-nsa-builds-its-biggest-data-farm

[Duer 157099]

4. Take the battery out when not in use

Not always the best solution but it is one

[Kurovski]

6. I don't have one. But yes, that would work.

Leave it in a drawer, etc. Not practical, but maybe while you're making love or what not... The spy folk like to get ahold of the sexy stuff, as we have seen.

[defacto7]

8. I agree with frazzled but will add...

Why do people always think it's an FBI, CIA, NSA thing? Anyone can do this with the right software and an easy to obtain "how to" manual, and a bit of interest. That's what gets me. It's so 007 to talk about the government or the spy world doing this stuff but the fact is they have been behind in such tech for a long time. It's just not that hard to tap a cell phone, off or on... or an Ipad or just about any wifi related hardware. And yes, you can hack a car as well. It's all available on your friendly neighborhood Internet.

And just as a reminder, that IS a report from 2006 as stated in the OP. It's old technology to get into phones but the ability to get into these devices has not changed much. Software and hardware companies like their little back doors as if they really matter.

[Kurovski]

9. Anyone can do it and it's illegal.

caught or not...it's illegal.

[defacto7]

14. Caught or not, government or not, spy or not....

it's illegal as far as I'm concerned, but if it's the government I go for unconstitutional. You have no argument from me there. It's just that it's not like having a phone in your shoe or a watch that turns into a helicopter. When you own a device that's connected, you are vulnerable... to anyone. So we have to make a choice about our security period and how much we are willing to be vulnerable. That goes for social networking too.

[snooper2]

10. jesus

The stupid may not be able to be fixed

[Kurovski]

12. Glibbety-globbety-gloob.

I keep wondering what they mean when they almost always say "It's much worse than you think".

Teh stupid? Is that it snooper?

[Kurovski]

17. The point is to get the cool kids to hang awesome.

Y'know, this shit is so Melvin. snoop is ona case.

He's cool: we drool.

It's a mind thing, yo.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

11. Freedom!

Ain't it great?

[Coyotl]

13. Actually, they can turn on an entire cloud of cell phone microphones, a room full of them

for example, so while your batery is out, the phones at all the surrounding tables in a restaurant can be on in unison.

[defacto7]

16. Wow...If they have separate channels for each phone,

they could have stereo, tripliphonic, quadraphonic, quintaphonic... the fidelity could be astounding! jjk.

[Coyotl]

21. And software can separate the conversations!

[BillyRibs]

19. My Friends have Taken to,

Doing the Battery Pull when we discuss Politics.

[MineralMan]

22. Really? Are those discussions really, really

interesting, to the point where anyone would give a crap about them? I doubt it very much.

[Kurovski]

23. Members of Occupy would be well-advised to do so.

Yes, really, I think so.

Peace groups, pro-abortion rights.

You fuckin' betcha'!

Nothing new under the sun as to who the one- percenters hope to take down. All classic material, really.

A progressive--nay--a Democrat would know that history. Even just the year 1968 as a general chapter in American history.

[BillyRibs]

24. Go F&%$ Yourself!

[MineralMan]

25. That's a physical impossibility.

Even with punctuation characters.

[JustAnotherGen]

26. Oh!

[BillyRibs]

30. I get a little Pissy, (Wow, isn't that an understatement!)

When I get It, in one form or another, the, "If you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to fear." statement B.S! And that's how that comment came across to me! it was in essences the Same old tired government line going right back to 1936. Maybe even a bit further. So That is exactly the response that comment and people who use it will get from me most deservedly!

[cprise]

20. I remember. Its why phone batteries should be easily removable.

The firmware & software of the phone can be changed by the carrier at will. If you want to guard against abuse, the surest stopgap is to remove the phone's battery when not needed. Never trust a machine from which you can't simply cut its power; The "off" state of today's phones is just a very low-power software mode... they aren't really "off" in the traditional sense.

Getting an Android phone and replacing the software with a community-issued version is another good step towards privacy.

[JustAnotherGen]

27. With my

Eris and Thunderbolt - I was always prompted. My company did a push a few years ago - and a woman lost voice mails from her son that had been killed two months prior in an automobile accident . . . And the escalation to our then CEO put the policy in place that we had to notify of changes - then prompt.

My RZR Maxx HD - you can't pull the battery from - just like the iPhone.

Should everyone trash their iThings tomorrow? I'm willing to punt the Maxx off the terrace just because it keeps freezing and I've only used it for three months.


And for Android - how do we know the person who created the community software isn't a Fraudster just trying to get our information? I'm not being difficult - its a serious question. How do I know the person who created the work around has positive intent?

[cprise]

28. Most people treat iPhones as quasi-disposable

They upgrade as soon as a newer model comes out.

There is a large tech community that can download and understand Android source code; its unlikely that added malware would go unnoticed for long especially any code that uploaded personal data to a listening 3rd party-- it would stand out like a sore thumb. These community distributions of Android also have a reputation for making phones run more smoothly. Here is one of the popular Android distros: http://www.cyanogenmod.org/

[Octafish]

31. Car accelerators.

https://securityledger.com/2013/06/richard-clarke-car-hacking-possible-in-crash-that-killed-michael-hastings/