big brother is watching you

[dumbdog]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Carrier IQ is a piece of software installed on millions of mobile phones that logs everything their users do, from what websites they browse to what their text messages say.
No, it's not part of some great Orwellian plot; it's a diagnostic tool that carriers say plays a crucial role in helping them assess and troubleshoot their networks. But the recording app, which flew under the radar for years until security researchers drew attention to it recently, is setting off red-alert privacy and security alarms.
It's also spotlighting how little customers -- and, sometimes, the carriers and manufacturers themselves -- know about what goes on under the hood of their data-stuffed mobile devices.
Reports about Carrier IQ's hair-raisingly detailed tracking capabilities began swirling in the tech press several months ago and gained steam after Android developer Trevor Eckhart posted an analysis of the software's data logs.
But on Monday, Eckhart followed up with a 17-minute YouTube video showing how the software secretly runs on his HTC EVO 3D Android phone and logs every key press, every text, and the full URL of every website he visits. It recorded that data even from websites that use security encryption designed to prevent that kind of tracking.
Then word began spreading about just how ubiquitous Carrier IQ's software is. It's on an estimated 150 million mobile devices.
AT&T and Sprint confirmed to CNNMoney that handsets on their networks run Carrier IQ's software and transmit information from it back to them. T-Mobile, which was not immediately prepared to comment, also uses Carrier IQ to monitor devices on its network, researchers say.
Verizon Wireless says it doesn't use Carrier IQ's software. It also claims that it doesn't run anything similar, though Verizon's rivals all disputed that, insisting that modern networks can't operate without these kinds of diagnostic tools.
Researchers have found the software on multiple devices running Google's Android operating system.
Apple also confirmed Thursday to CNNMoney that the software is running on some of its mobile devices, but the company says it stopped supporting it in the latest version of iOS and will completely eliminate Carrier IQ from all iPhones and iPads in an upcoming software update.
What the logging tool does: Carrier IQ -- and several of its major customers -- say its software is being misunderstood.
Carrier IQ says the core purpose of its tool is to uncover broad trends across a network. Its software can help carriers find out where calls are dropping and why, and zero in on device glitches. If a specific handset line from HTC, say, has a battery life problem, Carrier IQ's software will help surface the problem.
Sprint, for example, said it uses Carrier IQ to root out network problems.
"We collect enough information to understand the customer experience with devices on our network and how to address any connection problems," Sprint said in a prepared statement. "We do not and cannot look at the contents of messages, photos, videos, etc., using this tool. The information collected is not sold and we don't provide a direct feed of this data to anyone outside of Sprint."
But as Eckhart's video and other security investigations have illustrated, Carrier IQ is logging a shockingly extensive cache of data.
In response, Carrier IQ issued a statement saying that it doesn't "record," meaning it doesn't actually transmit to the carriers or anyone else, most of the information it stores on phones.
It's a technical but meaningful distinction. Sprint and AT&T said that they do not and cannot collect the kinds of detailed information that the Carrier IQ software tracks on the phone.
Independent security analyst Dan Rosenberg has studied Carrier IQ's software and several wireless providers' user of it. As he puts it: "People need to recognize that there's a big difference between recording events like keystrokes ... and actually collecting, storing, and transmitting this data to carriers, which doesn't happen."
He added: "After reverse engineering Carrier IQ myself, I have seen no evidence that they are collecting anything more than what they've publicly claimed: anonymized metrics data."
Still, he didn't let Carrier IQ off the hook completely. There are significant privacy concerns -- which both Carrier IQ and its customers seem to have overlooked -- associated with having a big chunk of personal data stashed on your phone.
Rosenberg called that software design approach "pretty bad."
Christopher Soghoian, a cyberprivacy researcher and fellow at human rights organization Open Society, echoed that view.
"Carrier IQ doesn't seem as nefarious as incompetent, but that may not be enough to allay the legitimate concerns of the public," he said. "There would be huge issues if this data were transmitted to a carrier, but even if not, it presents huge concerns. This would be a gold mine for a hacker."
Soghoian thinks that Carrier IQ has far more access and stores much more information on phones than it should.
Yet users are essentially powerless to stop it. The software is so buried in the device's operating system that the average consumer can't possibly delete it, and doing so would void the phone's warranty.
"It's not reviewed by Google's security team, it's not audited, it may not get regular security updates, and you really don't want one app to have all that information," Soghoian noted.
Google insisted that Carrier IQ is installed at the manufacturer and carrier level. A company spokesman said it had no involvement with the software's appearance on its Android devices.
One thing is clear: This mess isn't over. What began as a wonky technical issue is becoming the subject of widespread public scrutiny.
Senator Al Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, fired off a letter to Carrier IQ on Thursday demanding answers. Franken said he is "very concerned" by reports that the software "is logging and may be transmitting extraordinarily sensitive information."
He's far from the only one with those concerns.

Read more: Carrier IQ: Your Phone's Secret Recording Device - Technology News Story - WMUR New Hampshire

[waterman1]

wow good info ty dumbdog

[CaptainSandy]

A good read, I don't really have a problem with all my history being monitored.
However if key strokes are recorded I would be worried about passwords being hacked.

[DreamALot]

Hey DD, ty for the information. I cracked open my android and found the lable that shuts that part off. Funny thing is, my phone doens't work anymore. I looked at the lable and it says yrettab. Hmmmm.

Really, hope Frankin gets some where on this. I don't have anything to hide .....yet.

[fred913]

Just another piece of info on how the establishment gain knowledge about the lives of ordinary people. In the same vein I tried to fill in a form to get a medical card here in Ireland, without this card you cannot have a doctor. Some of the questions annoyed me so much that I canned the form. Why on earth should I disclose how much rent I pay for my bungalow and such monetary info just to get a medical card. This info is stored for future use. I have no secrets but simply refuse to give personal info when it is clearly not needed. Big Brother is definitely watching you, trouble is we have become complacent in these matters. I am now on the watch.

[dumbdog]

WikiLeaks On Global Surveillance Industry

Documents Highlight World Of Spying

From Journalist Craig Johnson,Special to CNN
POSTED: 7:55 pm EST December 1, 2011
UPDATED: 1:16 am EST December 2, 2011

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Tim Chong/Reuters
(CNN) -- WikiLeaks on Thursday released 287 documents of what it called "the Spy Files," a trove of files exposing the reach of the global surveillance industry.
The documents -- brochures, manuals, catalogs and other literature -- offer a glimpse into the clandestine world of spying technology used by governments and the companies that supply them.
While some of the information was previously published in a Wall Street Journal piece about the burgeoning retail market for surveillance toolsursday's release in conjunction with six other organizations paints a composite of just how difficult it is for the world's citizens to truly protect their privacy.
One video from the release shows a promotion by the Hacking Team, which advertises a remote control "stealth system for attacking, infecting and monitoring computers and smartphones."
The whistle-blower site said Thursday's release was just the beginning of data from more than 160 intelligence contractors.
Meanwhilee Washington Post, one of the organizations with which WikiLeaks said it was working to uncover the surveillance market, wrote in detail about a spy tech bazaar. It was dubbed the Wiretappers' Ball and held in a Bethesda, Maryland, hotel in October. It was attended by representatives of 43 countries and several U.S. government agencies, including the FBI, the Secret Service, the IRS and even the Fish and Wildlife Service. They reportedly came as customers.
While "lawful interception" techniques are being debated in America, many of the same techniques and more robust means of surveillance are being fervently traded over public but strictly controlled channels, according to the newspaper.
"People are morally outraged by the traditional arms trade, but they don't realize that the sale of software and equipment that allows oppressive regimes to monitor the movements, communications and Internet activity of entire populations is just as dangerous," Eric King of Privacy International, a UK advocacy group in favor of limited state surveillance, told the Washington Post.
In October, WikiLeaks announced that it was temporarily stopping publication to "aggressively fundraise."
Since publishing a cadre of confidential U.S. diplomatic cables late last year, the site has been crippled by a financial blockade enacted by Bank of America, VISA, MasterCard, PayPal and Western Union.
The latest WikiLeaks data-dump comes days before the site's founder, Julian Assange, is scheduled to appear before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The hearing would be the third stage of the 40-year-old Australian's appeal against extradition to face allegations of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion by two women he met on a visit to Stockholm in August 2010.


Read more: WikiLeaks On Global Surveillance Industry - New Hampshire News Story - WMUR New Hampshire

[ultimodragon]

Worrying stuff DD
Iv had some spam texts on my mobile,which i just ignored about insurance claims etc..but today got a text from my local ARGOS store....
How the hell have they got my new number?
My last details with them are 2 adressess ago,and 2 different home numbers and have never given a mobile number...

Scary...

[LfcFan]

Hey DD/all

Being a phone geek, I heard of this a few months back and it is a complete outrage. An application like that on 150 million devices and for an unknown length of time has to have collected an unbelievable amount of personal information.
And to think that ALL the phone operating system manufacurers, phone handset manufacturers, phone network/carrier providers and whoever else knew of this software, it is just ridiculous. It is beyond belief that phone security software providers had no prior knowledge of this keylogging and text capture but a young hobbyist phone developer has noticed it.
I am so glad I decided never to use online banking via my phone because of scepticism about data security.
At least I know that this CarrierIQ is not on my device but now I am just left wondering about how secure my computer is.


Trevor Eckhart has been threatened with legal action against him by the CarrierIQ company but they have since retracted that.
I post a few links to more information for those interested.
Researcher’s Video Shows Secret Software on Millions of Phones Logging Everything | Threat Level | Wired.com
Critics Line Up to Bash Maker of Secret Phone-Monitoring Software | Threat Level | Wired.com
Carrier IQ Admits Holding ‘Treasure Trove’ of Consumer Data, But No Keystrokes | Threat Level | Wired.com