Even Powering Down A Cell Phone Can't Keep The NSA From Tracking Its Location

And we thought they were only able to eavesdrop when we had our phones on. This is pretty disgusting. The killer is the contention made by the article that the govt worked with phone providers to NOT patch vilnerabilities so that they could, en-masse, install malware that made this possible with updates pushed to the phones. Makes me wonder about recent vulnerabilities with common applications, that were known for years but never patched. This happened with Java version 6 and there was a microsoft patch last year that was for a vulnerability that was also known for at least a year. (can anyone remember that one?) If this could be verified and brought to light, then nows the perfect time. With all the other revelations brought about by Snowden, I'm seeing outrage grow.

Check out the article on tech-dirt.com:

Link

reply to post by Mike.Ockizard


Pretty much since the dawn of cell phones we've known that unless you physically remove the battery, the device is technically still on, in standby, the phone itself might be off, the radios aren't, they stay connected. This is not new information, it predates even the AT&T whistle blower who warned of all this spying years ago. As long as a connection is made or maintained from the phone radio to the cell / data network, they can track you.

He just wasn't smart enough to turn it into a James Bond movie, he just dumped what he knew to anyone willing to listen.

I do about all I can to make my phone "safe". Keep bluetooth off (amazing how many open blue tooth connections there are out there), keep gps turned off, keep the phone away from me when not in use, with the camera pointed down and the microphone covered in cotton balls.

The scary thing about this is, for an iphone to be infected, it pretty much has to come from apple, unless you are an idiot and jailbreak your iphone. So if they are using iphones to spy on people, they have permission or help from apple.

reply to post by tnhiker


lol cotton balls? That might be a little extreme.

I was thinking though, you can get shielding that will block wifi and radio signals, you can even get paint and wallpaper that does.

When RFID was the big story, I remember seeing a ton of RFID blocking wallets for sale. Couldn't somone design a hardcase, like an otter case, for phones but using radio/wifi blocking material? Don't want to be tracked, put the phone in the case.

cotton balls lol

reply to post by tnhiker

The scary thing about this is, for an iphone to be infected, it pretty much has to come from apple, unless you are an idiot and jailbreak your iphone. So if they are using iphones to spy on people, they have permission or help from apple.

ehhh no most of the tracking is done by the telco without needing apple. And those "idiots" who jailbreak their phones do run the risk of installing bad apps, but they also have much more control over the OS than a standard user does, meaning they are potentially safer.

I use android. I have a samsung. I replaced that with a custom os, similar to jailbreaking but not really, and I have complete control over every aspect of my phone. As well, I have an entire community of people working on the code, because they love to, they aren't making any money. It's an extension of the linux community, and it's a lot harder to slip in nefarious code with that many eyes on the code.

I saw somewhere a sleek type of metallic cover in which you can put your phone in, and still leave it turned on, and the signal is blocked, I'll try and remember it and post the link

Originally posted by phishyblankwaters
reply to post by Mike.Ockizard

 

Pretty much since the dawn of cell phones we've known that unless you physically remove the battery, the device is technically still on, in standby, the phone itself might be off, the radios aren't, they stay connected. This is not new information, it predates even the AT&T whistle blower who warned of all this spying years ago. As long as a connection is made or maintained from the phone radio to the cell / data network, they can track you.

He just wasn't smart enough to turn it into a James Bond movie, he just dumped what he knew to anyone willing to listen.

True but when I heard about that, it was a warning about hackers. I never considered the govt being the bad guys that were snooping. Also the claim that updates to fix vulnerabilities were suspended in order to allow govt to install malware was a shocker... To me at least

I remember the times when people whom said the government is tracking us were crazy.

reply to post by jimmyx


the problem with solutions like that is that while it does block signal, the phone will repeatedly try to connect to a tower, which will kill your battery quicker..it really is best to just turn the phone off, and yank the battery....

as to the op....jesus, this is oooooooold news......it's funny, but not entirely surprising that this is being reported now, as current news, when those of us who were paying attention knew about this stuff YEARS ago....

absolutely amazing..

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


If you are worried about being tracked, why carry a cell phone? Seriously, look into buying a one-way beeper or a burner phone or a walkie.

The NSA doesn't need some puny 0-day software exploits.

They have their own private backdoors implemented in the hardware itself.

Check out the story from two years ago where they found dozens if not hundreds of counterfeit routers in the US with hardware backdoors installed. I think they were from China.

NSA? lol.... local police use this.

and you must do more than simply remove the battery. now you must remove the battery and hit the power button several times....


some newer phones will hold a brief charge without the battery...

reply to post by Mike.Ockizard


Simple solution? Don't use it. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a phone on you 24/7. Not unless you absolutely need it for business. (Like myself.) Invest in an old phone, one prior to the year 2000. I have a nice Nokia 9110i that allows me to connect to the web and send emails. It's got a black and white screen, no camera or MP3's, but it's from 1999/2000 and before the government spy craze. This is what I typically use, despite owning several smartphones. (Ranging from W8 to Android phones.)

reply to post by Mike.Ockizard


Great post S&F!!
THE SOLUTION! IS A SMOOTHBOX!!!

This project exist to give the people of the World back there privacy, on demand when they need it, with nothing more then a quick H/|\CK to set one free of the griping 5EyZ that watch ever so closely to our ideas and movements.

Thwart the worlds most powerful Spy apparatus with, a NICKLE!

First: this dose not protect your online communications in any way or when you use your phone service.

*What is a SmoothBox? A SmoothBox has one major critical function. Shield you cellular device from properly communicating with ALL GSM cell towers,GPS,GPRS,Wifi, and Bluetooth networks.

SOURCE: www.reddit.com...

BIG INFO:

THE BOMB SHELL: Create a GHOST PHONE! With a Nickel!

And Now for the big one! During this discovery a small observation was made about the network still thinking your phone was present because of the unknown way of signal loss while communicating with the system. Huhhuhahaha! This may be an Unknown Exploit!!! To Create a Ghost Session simply place your phone powered on in the can. Wait about a minute. Then with the phone in the can press and hold down the power down button. Quickly slide phone out and confirm the shutdown/power down and quickly place the phone back into the can and wait till it completely powers down Presto! You now have a Ghost Phone/Session.

ALSO:

OTHER RELIVANT INFORMATION !
Another product that helps accomplish this is the EMFX-47 (By NEMO) www.tacticaldistributors.com/emfx-47-cell-phone-gps-blocking-pouch Link to Nemo's shilding catalog (other cool off grid living and shielding tech) www.nemoequipment.com...

Nether Smooth nor a Box!

ATS tread: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by Daedalus
reply to post by jimmyx

 

the problem with solutions like that is that while it does block signal, the phone will repeatedly try to connect to a tower, which will kill your battery quicker..it really is best to just turn the phone off, and yank the battery....

as to the op....jesus, this is oooooooold news......it's funny, but not entirely surprising that this is being reported now, as current news, when those of us who were paying attention knew about this stuff YEARS ago....

absolutely amazing..

right, I should have stipulated that "when the phone is turned off"...I assumed too much.

reply to post by OPUFO3257142119


Welcome to the land of the not-so-free where you need to worry about the govt logging all of your activity and keeping it on file indefinitely. I feel much safer now.

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


I find your idea of "smart" very counter-intuitive.

If anything, that persons response seems much more intelligent than Snowden's. Can Snowden even speak Russian or read Cyrillic? I'm guessing Snowden had a plan, which didn't play out the way he'd expected.

reply to post by Mike.Ockizard


All of us must innovate ways to protect each other from this new norm,IWILL NEVER ACCEPT!