Snowden designs hardware to thwart cellphone digital surveillance
7 views
Skip to first unread message
Selected by Rael
Jul 23, 2016, 9:23:56 AM7/23/16
to rael-s...@googlegroups.com
The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
Get Rael-Science on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/raelscience
Source: https://www.rt.com/usa/352581-snowden-designs-hard...
Snowden designs hardware to thwart cellphone digital surveillance
Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden © Vincent Kessler / Reuters
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and a hacker colleague have designed cellphone hardware that would alert a user to radio digital surveillance and errant signals.
The cellphone battery case, or “introspection engine” is designed for the iPhone 6 to monitor the electrical signal sent to its internal antennas.
Snowden and Andrew Huang, a hardware hacker, presented the design before an audience at the MIT Med Lab in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday, according to Wired magazine.
The battery case comes with a small mono-color screen and tiny wires that slot into the iPhone’s SIM-card slot to test points on the phone’s circuit board.
There the wires read electrical signals sent to the phone’s two antennas that are used by its radio, including GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi and cellular modem. The battery case will then warn the user through an alert message or an audible alarm if its radios are transmitting anything when they are meant to be off.
The purpose of the device is to offer the cellphone owner a check on whether the phone’s radio is transmitting, a concern for those wanting protections from hackers or for reporters wanting protections from government surveillance in hostile foreign countries.
“One good journalist in the right place at the right time can change history,” Snowden told the MIT Media Lab crowd via video stream, according to Wired magazine. “This makes them a target, and increasingly tools of their trade are being used against them.”
Snowden speaking via video stream said the add-on is more trustworthy than the “airplane mode” which has been shown can be hacked or spoofed.
“Our approach is: state-level adversaries are powerful, assume the phone is compromised,” Andrew Huang told Wired.
For the purpose of Thursday’s presentation the hardware is still in its design stage. The pair plan to develop a prototype over the next year, and then create a supply chain in China.
Snowden and Huang then plan to offer the devices to journalists and newsrooms.
Huang told Wired that when reporters are overseas in places like Syria or Iraq, “those [governments] have exploits that cause their phones to do things they don’t expect them to do.”
He added “You can think your phone’s radios are off, and not telling your location to anyone, but actually still be at risk.”
Huang said turning off your phone with its power button can still be hacked with clever malware and even placing it in a Faraday bag designed to block all radio signals can still lead to leaked signals.
Snowden and Andrew Huang, a hardware hacker, presented the design before an audience at the MIT Med Lab in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday, according to Wired magazine.
The battery case comes with a small mono-color screen and tiny wires that slot into the iPhone’s SIM-card slot to test points on the phone’s circuit board.
The technical write-up for the #iPhone snitch @bunniestudios and I presented today @MIT:https://t.co/NfjOqVzY8Xpic.twitter.com/Fg0WcFsGqF
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) July 21, 2016
Why I'm modding the iPhone 6 with @snowden. Thursday 9am Boston time via livestream:https://t.co/Y9HtImXy4d#forbiddenML
— bunnie (@bunniestudios) July 20, 2016
“One good journalist in the right place at the right time can change history,” Snowden told the MIT Media Lab crowd via video stream, according to Wired magazine. “This makes them a target, and increasingly tools of their trade are being used against them.”
#FBI recommends no charges against #Clinton, but #Snowden & others didn’t get off so easyhttps://t.co/QQIfZ1w7mrpic.twitter.com/XM0oFN78MT
— RT America (@RT_America) July 5, 2016
“Our approach is: state-level adversaries are powerful, assume the phone is compromised,” Andrew Huang told Wired.
For the purpose of Thursday’s presentation the hardware is still in its design stage. The pair plan to develop a prototype over the next year, and then create a supply chain in China.
Edward #Snowden’s legal team to seek presidential pardon from Obamahttps://t.co/M6pQGgW0uYpic.twitter.com/K10lOVbnpq
— RT America (@RT_America) June 27, 2016
Huang told Wired that when reporters are overseas in places like Syria or Iraq, “those [governments] have exploits that cause their phones to do things they don’t expect them to do.”
He added “You can think your phone’s radios are off, and not telling your location to anyone, but actually still be at risk.”
Huang said turning off your phone with its power button can still be hacked with clever malware and even placing it in a Faraday bag designed to block all radio signals can still lead to leaked signals.
WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic, anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews, antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages