iPhone a Trojan Horse For Government Surveillance?

An alarming white paper concludes that the Apple iPhone contains a backdoor spyware module that allows hackers or the government to conduct secret surveillance of the user, part of an established trend of corporations and the state working hand in hand to eavesdrop on citizens via widely-used software and hardware products.

Earlier this week, a technology group in Russia released the results of their attempts to reverse engineer the iPhone, concluding that the product has "A built-in function which sends all data from an iPhone to a specified web-server. Contacts from a phonebook, SMS, recent calls, history of Safari browser - all your personal information can be stolen."

The module could act as a backdoor for trojan developers or AT & T, said the report, adding that "government structures" would have access to the information.

src: www.prisonplanet.com...

I read somewhere that 1 in 3 americans wanted an iphone. Not really that hard to believe given the hype and marketing campaign. I'd like to see more open source devices so that we could get a idea of whats really going. All in the name of averting terrorism I'm sure.

brill

[edit on 20-7-2007 by brill]

"Earlier this week, a technology group in Russia released the results of their attempts to reverse engineer the iPhone"

I'm glad to see there are people trying to help out citizens.

Originally posted by Equinox99
"Earlier this week, a technology group in Russia released the results of their attempts to reverse engineer the iPhone"

I'm glad to see there are people trying to help out citizens.

Russian hackers are definitely on the forefront when it comes to reverse engineering items like this. It's good to get an understanding of exactly what is going in software even if its proprietary. Another interesting point in the article is that apparently only AT&T have exclusive rights to iPhone offerings. They must have better wiretapping facilities.

brill

Well if it's actually true they are going to have info on alot of people since they sold hundreds of thousands so far.

But what are they going to use it for? Yes it's an invasion of privacy, but what are they going to use your recent calls for?

Unless you are doing something bad, will they even bother with finding out what you do?

Originally posted by enjoies05
Well if it's actually true they are going to have info on alot of people since they sold hundreds of thousands so far.

But what are they going to use it for? Yes it's an invasion of privacy, but what are they going to use your recent calls for?

Unless you are doing something bad, will they even bother with finding out what you do?

The fact that your privacy is robbed is bad enough. I'd like to say that it could be used for just about any type of profiling especially marketing however since only AT&T has rights, so far, that doesn't seem to fit. Of course there could be other 3rd parties very interested in what you do. Remember you can use the phone to surf as well, its not just for voice purposes.

brill

Yeah, I know it's an invasion of privacy.

What I'm saying though, dealing with the government spying on you,

Are they going to go through the 700,000 + (latest numbers I saw, will go up) owners and go through every site, phone call and contacts they make for the heck of it?

Or is it going to be used to spy on suspected criminals, or people dealing with certain things related to terrorism? Because if someone is setting up a bombing and searching for things to do it, it would be better if they caught them before they carry it out.

So maybe it's a good thing in the long run?

Originally posted by enjoies05
Yeah, I know it's an invasion of privacy.

What I'm saying though, dealing with the government spying on you,

Are they going to go through the 700,000 + (latest numbers I saw, will go up) owners and go through every site, phone call and contacts they make for the heck of it?

Or is it going to be used to spy on suspected criminals, or people dealing with certain things related to terrorism? Because if someone is setting up a bombing and searching for things to do it, it would be better if they caught them before they carry it out.

So maybe it's a good thing in the long run?

How do you know your dealing with a criminal though. You would have to review all information to make that assessment, unless of course you have other means. I wouldn't say this is ground breaking because its well known that surveillance on many other levels is well underway its just another feather in their cap. As for data mining it would be trivial I'd say to keep all records and use software automation along with some human review.

In the long run I'm against this. I look forward to more systems that deploy some form of encryption to counter government snooping.

brill

But if there are more forms of countering the government snooping it is just going to be harder for them to catch criminals. Because they are going to be the ones using it.

So then you would have more crime plots going under the radar if they are being plotted through phones, and less chances of them being caught.

Originally posted by enjoies05
But if there are more forms of countering the government snooping it is just going to be harder for them to catch criminals. Because they are going to be the ones using it.

So then you would have more crime plots going under the radar if they are being plotted through phones, and less chances of them being caught.

Yes and thats the difficult part. I believe though that the criminal underground has far more resources to hide their activities. The average citizen is the one who suffers more here not the criminal. Also what's to prevent the government from participating in corporate espionage to further their agenda. Still you are correct though it is a challenge.

brill

So where is this whitepaper?

It's not on the Russian web-hack site (Who are claimed to be the writers of the whitepaper), it hasn't appeared on astalavista or slashdot. Various iPhone hacking sites also don't have this story, or other information.

Wasn't AT&T involved with some kind of spying with the government not to long ago? I think it was in San Fransico and they'd track you over your IP address. There was a way to check in the DOS prompt but I know AT&T was involved and I think they where involved with the NSA.

Originally posted by enjoies05
Yeah, I know it's an invasion of privacy.

What I'm saying though, dealing with the government spying on you,

Are they going to go through the 700,000 + (latest numbers I saw, will go up) owners and go through every site, phone call and contacts they make for the heck of it?

Or is it going to be used to spy on suspected criminals, or people dealing with certain things related to terrorism? Because if someone is setting up a bombing and searching for things to do it, it would be better if they caught them before they carry it out.

So maybe it's a good thing in the long run?

This would be the case if the technology to sort, prioritize, and categorize all the data was not available...sadly the technology is available.

Originally posted by ChrisJr03
Wasn't AT&T involved with some kind of spying with the government not to long ago? I think it was in San Fransico and they'd track you over your IP address. There was a way to check in the DOS prompt but I know AT&T was involved and I think they where involved with the NSA.

I think you may be referring to this:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

brill

If its true, it must be for profiling. Just imagine what else they have on your files, like dna, medical history, school records. They probably have voice recorded so theres voice recognition. Mobiles probably collect more info on you than you think, and its all being stored somewhere and sorted. Profiling must be big business behind the scenes.

For those that say its for criminals and terrorists, thats wrong, you are all being treated like criminals without any truths. Do you guys not think its worrying, just how much info they are collecting on people. Any info about you can be used to wreck your life, and you guys do not realise this.

they say the nsa and these groups have massive storage capabilities of computer data, there going to need it, for all the info they must collect.

[edit on 7/21/2007 by andy1033]

Excellent Find!

This is a clear violation of the famous 4th Amendment to U.S. the Constitution, which was especially designed to keep events such as this not happening. We already know that THEY are listening to anything you type in Google - not to mention the grand plan to use computer microphones to spy on certain individuals and their habits and build psychological profiles and record them in their evergrowing database of potention "Suspects". So do you already feel the Big Bro breathing behind your neck or not? Will you give away your rights, as a citizen of so-called most free and democratic country in the world? Why exactly are you willing to do so? Because of the Terrorists? Then again, in their immense database you could already pass as a potentional threat to homeland security and the very actions you support could very quickly start working against you. All because you wanted a new toy called iPhone. It shold be called "iPhone-youSpy". Feeling any safer yet?

If this feature exists, my first question is-can it be removed or disabled? What effect would that have on the phone's performance?

I'm having difficulty tracking down the white-paper but the understanding is that the iPhone will send collected personal data back to a private server/service. Now in Apple's defense a lot of value added services such as this exist however they are typically setup so that the end user initiates the process. The ability is certainly there so that data, including voice taps, could be easily replicated without user consent. Still need to see the exact details on how this team of hackers made their discovery.

Also with AT&T having exclusivity here and being in bed with the NSA theres very little to ponder.

brill

Originally posted by brill
The average citizen is the one who suffers more here not the criminal. Also what's to prevent the government from participating in corporate espionage to further their agenda. Still you are correct though it is a challenge.

brill

The average citizen doesn't even know what's going on, much less suffers as a result of it. Why should we be afraid of publicizing our call log, does the government really care if you're two-timing your girlfriend when someone else is about to rob a bank or go to a massive drug deal. In an optimally functioning society, wouldn't the law-abiding citizens want enforcement and surveillance of the laws to not only be efficient, but also to be out-of-sight?

Assuming a move towards a more open, communitarian society is inevitable, and less value is placed on "personal information": Would you rather the cops stop everyone on the street and ask them to see their call-log, or just download it secretly and without bother?

Originally posted by brill
The ability is certainly there so that data, including voice taps, could be easily replicated without user consent. Still need to see the exact details on how this team of hackers made their discovery.

Also with AT&T having exclusivity here and being in bed with the NSA theres very little to ponder.

brill

This can happen on land lines as well, communication has never been secure, and wire-tapping very rarely requires "user consent." I don't see why this is unique to the iphone.

Originally posted by brill
I'm having difficulty tracking down the white-paper but the understanding is that the iPhone will send collected personal data back to a private server/service.

Why do you think it's hard to find the whitepaper?

::cough::HOAX::cough::