Smartphone security gap exposes location, texts, email, expert says

latimes.comJust as U.S. companies are coming to grips with the threats to their computer networks emanating from cyber spies based in China, a noted expert is highlighting what he says is an even more pernicious vulnerability in smartphones. Dmitri Alperovitch, the former McAfee cyber security researcher who is best known for identifying a widespread China-based [...]

Chinese Telecoms May Be Spying on Large Numbers of Foreign Customers

theatlantic.comA U.S. Congressional probe is investigating whether China’s state-linked firms, which built much of the communications infrastructure in several Asian countries, is using its access for snooping. Two Chinese telecommunications giants are under scrutiny by a US congressional committee. The outcome of the probe could have revealing implications for Central Asian states, which have used [...]

Government Investigates Cellphone Wiretapping

theatlantic.comAs the government begins an investigation into Carrier IQ’s cell phone-tracking software, memories of its own wiretapping scandal resurface“Spy on unsuspecting Americans? That’s our job,” you can imagine federal officials indignantly declaring as they investigate cell-phone tracking by the mobile software company, Carrier IQ. The National Security Agency began secret, illegal surveillance of our phone calls and Internet activities [...]

Spouse Spy’s on the case

scpr.org Tailing a philandering mate used to be so messy, complicated – and expensive. Private detectives aren’t cheap, after all, and someone always seems to end up dead – at least in the movies. But nowadays, suspicious spouses don’t need to call on Philip Marlowe. You can shadow your significant other just by installing Spouse [...]

Devices That Can Listen In on Cellphone Traffic, Control Your Phone

wsj.com Law enforcement and military officials are increasingly using secret devices sometimes called “stingrays” to locate people via their cellphones, even when the phones aren’t in use, the Wall Street Journal reported recently. But finding people isn’t all that this type of gear can do. These types of machines mimic a cell tower and cause your [...]

Which Telecoms Store Your Data the Longest? Secret Memo Tells All

wired The nation’s major mobile-phone providers are keeping a treasure trove of sensitive data on their customers, according to newly-released Justice Department internal memo that for the first time reveals the data retention policies of America’s largest telecoms. The single-page Department of Justice document, “Retention Periods of Major Cellular Service Providers,” (.pdf) is a guide [...]

U.S. spy agency trying to go mobile

reuters.com (Reuters) – Troy Lange knows that just mentioning cellphones is enough to give security officers heartburn at the National Security Agency. Lange, as the NSA’s mobility mission manager, is developing a smartphone that he wants to bring inside the super-secret U.S. spy agency to access classified information and apps while on the move. He [...]

HTC Sneaks Spying App into Android 2.3.4 Phones

hothardware.com Looks like HTC has quietly slipped its users a spying app that tracks an alarming amount of user behavior and sends that data off to itself and perhaps others via a mysterious service in the cloud. The snooping app came nestled with the 2.3.4 Android update pushed out to some of its smartphones such [...]

Court Affirms Legality Of Recording Police Officers

wbur.org Last Friday, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that affirmed, stronger than ever, the rights of individuals to openly record the actions of police officers. In 2007, a young lawyer named Simon Glik was walking through Boston Common when he saw three police officers arresting a teenager. Glik thought the [...]

Businesses Increasingly Under Attack From Cyber-Security Threats

marketwatch.com Cyber-Criminals Targeting Mobile Devices and Social Media Sites SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — SonicWALL, Inc., the leading provider of intelligent network security and data protection solutions, today issued its mid-year cyber-threat intelligence bulletin. The bulletin reveals that businesses are increasingly under attack by cyber-criminals who seek to exploit employees [...]