– Privacy Scandal: NSA Can Spy on Smart Phone Data (Spiegel, Sep 7, 2013):
SPIEGEL has learned from internal NSA documents that the US intelligence agency has the capability of tapping user data from the iPhone, devices using Android as well as BlackBerry, a system previously believed to be highly secure.
The United States’ National Security Agency intelligence-gathering operation is capable of accessing user data from smart phones from all leading manufacturers. Top secret NSA documents that SPIEGEL has seen explicitly note that the NSA can tap into such information on Apple iPhones, BlackBerry devices and Google’s Android mobile operating system.
The documents state that it is possible for the NSA to tap most sensitive data held on these smart phones, including contact lists, SMS traffic, notes and location information about where a user has been.
The documents also indicate that the NSA has set up specific working groups to deal with each operating system, with the goal of gaining secret access to the data held on the phones.In the internal documents, experts boast about successful access to iPhone data in instances where the NSA is able to infiltrate the computer a person uses to sync their iPhone. Mini-programs, so-called “scripts,” then enable additional access to at least 38 iPhone features.
The documents suggest the intelligence specialists have also had similar success in hacking into BlackBerrys. A 2009 NSA document states that it can “see and read SMS traffic.” It also notes there was a period in 2009 when the NSA was temporarily unable to access BlackBerry devices. After the Canadian company acquired another firm the same year, it changed the way in compresses its data. But in March 2010, the department responsible at Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency declared in a top secret document it had regained access to BlackBerry data and celebrated with the word, “champagne!”
The documents also state that the NSA has succeeded in accessing the BlackBerry mail system, which is known to be very secure. This could mark a huge setback for the company, which has always claimed that its mail system is uncrackable.
In response to questions from SPIEGEL, BlackBerry officials stated, “It is not for us to comment on media reports regarding alleged government surveillance of telecommunications traffic.” The company said it had not programmed a “‘back door’ pipeline to our platform.”
The material viewed by SPIEGEL suggests that the spying on smart phones has not been a mass phenomenon. It has been targeted, in some cases in an individually tailored manner and without the knowledge of the smart phone companies.
Visit SPIEGEL ONLINE International on Monday for the full article.
I am discovering I am not the only one who is boycotting the smart phones, and opting for a land line. I carried a cell phone from the middle 1990s until a year ago. When I first carried a cell phone, it was something few people had, and it was really nice, especially if on the road, stuck in traffic, or the like. It was a cool toy for this technology loving person. Now, everyone has one, and they have become electronic leashes. Also, the labor abuses of the workers are unacceptable to this liberal minded lady.
I noticed it more when I got a Kindle. The darn thing started sending me commercials of TV shows that might interest me based on my reading history. That was enough for me. I put the Kindle on the shelf, and dumped the cell phone. It isn’t fun anymore, it is a way to monitor and control people . Forget it. Even worse, news items come from Yahoo and other corporate obfuscation outlets.
If I travel, I’ll take a plain cell phone for safety, but with no Internet, or any bells and whistles. It is a mobile phone, nothing more. Otherwise, forget it.
People need to grow up and take better inventory of what we really want vs. what we need. The talking Idol (TV) tells people they “need” this junk. Talking cars make your phone calls for you……..it is insane.