Re: [occupy-where-I-live] FBI Using Cellphones as Tracking Monitors (fwd)

[robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

Give me convenience *and* give me death?

 > From: Noelle <http://dummy.us.eu.org/noelleg>
 > Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2012 10:25:00 -0700 (PDT)
 >
 >  > Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2012 10:16:53 -0700 (PDT)
 >  > From: White Noise <http://www.gmail.com/~chudbabies>
 >  > 
 >  > via 
 >  > http://boingboing.net/2012/09/04/your-cellphone-is-a-tracking-d.html#
 >  > more-1796
 >  > 
 >  > Just in case you had any doubts about how much of a security risk your 
 >  > mobile phone presents, have a read of Jacob Appelbaum's interview with *N+*. 
 >  > 
 >  > Jake's with both the Tor and Wikileaks projects, and has been detained and 
 >  > scrutinized to a fare-thee-well.
 >  > 
 >  > Appelbaum: Cell phones are tracking devices that make phone calls. Itâ??s 
 >  > sad, but itâ??s true. Which means software solutions donâ??t always matter. 
 >  > You 
 >  > can have a secure set of tools on your phone, but it doesnâ??t change the 
 >  > fact that your phone tracks everywhere you go. And the police can 
 >  > potentially push updates onto your phone that backdoor it and allow it to 
 >  > be turned into a microphone remotely, and do other stuff like that. The 
 >  > police can identify everybody at a protest by bringing in a device called 
 >  > an IMSI catcher. Itâ??s a fake cell phone tower that can be built for 1500 
 >  > bucks. And once nearby, everybodyâ??s cell phones will automatically jump 
 >  > onto the tower, and if the phoneâ??s unique identifier is exposed, all the 
 >  > police have to do is go to the phone company and ask for their information.
 >  > 
 >  > Resnick: So phones are tracking devices. They can also be used for 
 >  > surreptitious recording. Would taking the battery out disable this 
 >  > capability?
 >  > 
 >  > Appelbaum: Maybe. But iPhones, for instance, donâ??t have a removable 
 >  > battery; they power off via the power button. So if I wrote a backdoor for 
 >  > the iPhone, it would play an animation that looked just like a black 
 >  > screen. And then when you pressed the button to turn it back on it would 
 >  > pretend to boot. Just play two videos.
 >  > 
 >  > Resnick: And how easy is it to create something like to that?
 >  > 
 >  > Appelbaum: There are weaponized toolkits sold by companies like FinFisher 
 >  > that enable breaking into BlackBerries, Android phones, iPhones, Symbian 
 >  > devices and other platforms. And with a single click, say, the police can 
 >  > own a person, and take over her phone.
 >  > 
 >  > You may be saying here, "Huh, I'm sure glad that I'm not doing anything 
 >  > that would get me targeted by US spooks!" Think again. First, there's the 
 >  > possibility that you'll be incorrectly identified as a bad guy, like Maher 
 >  > Arar <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maher_Arar>< who got a multi-year dose 
 >  > of Syrian torture when the security apparatus experienced a really bad case 
 >  > of mistaken identity.
 >  > 
 >  > But second, remember that whatever governments can do with technology, 
 >  > organized criminals can do too (this is doubly true of back-doors that 
 >  > governments mandate in telecoms equipment and software to make spying 
 >  > easier -- they can be used by anyone, not just "good guys").
 >  > 
 >  > And finally, remember that whatever the leet haxxors of the mafia are doing 
 >  > today on the cutting edge will be reduced to a short script that can be run 
 >  > by fatfingered noobie script kids tomorrow, in automated attacks that are 
 >  > indiscriminately ranged against tens of millions of devices in the hopes of 
 >  > finding a few that are vulnerable.
 >  > 
 >  > Or as Jake says:
 >  > 
 >  > The first response people have is, whatever, Iâ??m not important. And the 
 >  > second is, theyâ??re not watching me, and even if they were, thereâ??s 
 >  > nothing 
 >  > they could find because Iâ??m not doing anything illegal. But the thing is, 
 >  > taking precautions with your communications is like safe sex in that you 
 >  > have a responsibility to other people to be safeâ??your transgressions can 
 >  > fuck other people over. The reality is that when you find out it will be 
 >  > too late. Itâ??s not about doing a perfect job, itâ??s about recognizing you 
 >  > 
 >  > have a responsibility to do that job at all, and doing the best job you can 
 >  > manage, without it breaking down your ability to communicate, without it 
 >  > ruining your day, and understanding that sometimes itâ??s not safe to 
 >  > undertake an action, even if other times you would. Thatâ??s the education 
 >  > component.
 >  > 
 >  > So security culture stuff sounds crazy, but the technological capabilities 
 >  > of the police, especially with these toolkits for sale, is vast. And to 
 >  > thwart that by taking all the phones at a party and putting them in a bag 
 >  > and putting them in the freezer and turning on music in the other 
 >  > roomâ??true, someone in the meeting might be a snitch, but at least thereâ??
 >  > s 
 >  > no audio recording of you.