4 ms·

Spyware demo shows how spooks hack mobile phones

48 points by merah 11y ago

adamzubi700 11y ago
http://googler700.blogspot.com/ http://googler700.blogspot.com/
amiraliakbari 11y ago
> source code for the programme had been dumped online by hackers No references to online source or even the malware's name is made in the article. Does anyone have more information on this?
- SG- 11y ago
  I only read the article briefly since it seemed so light on details and honestly really bad (it seemed more like a fear mongering), but I believe they're referring to Hacking Team stuff released.
- rabbidrabbit 11y ago
  There appears to be some code on github[0]. I haven't looked through it yet though [0] - https://github.com/hackedteam https://github.com/hackedteam
  - wcummings 11y ago
    This is it. It's from the Hacking Team dump. You can find the emails on wikileaks
- dublinben 11y ago
  BBC technology coverage is almost universally terrible. They hardly ever provide links to further information, which is appalling for an online news site.
- jsingleton 11y ago
  The article links to https://www.4armed.com/blog/hacking-team-rcs-analysis-hacked-team https://www.4armed.com/blog/hacking-team-rcs-analysis-hacked... which has a detailed analysis of RCS including source code.
rasputhin 11y ago
Spooks? 😨 Must be brit slang.. Lol
- lorenzhs 11y ago
  It's another word for spies. I never realised it had a completely different meaning in colloquial American English.
yoz-y 11y ago
Hm, is there currently any mobile anti-virus software available that would have caught and blocked the Hacking Team exploits before the reveal? Are there actually any "standard" security procedures for mobile? I suppose a vast majority of customers simply trust OS vendors to release a secure environment.
- jandrese 11y ago
  Unless you jailbreak your phone you are basically forced to trust the vendor. Even with a jailbreak there are lots of places to hide something like this. If there is a hack in the baseband firmware on your phone you are basically out of luck.
  - Zigurd 11y ago
    > If there is a hack in the baseband firmware on your phone you are basically out of luck. You are out of luck. Around 2005/2006 it was revealed in a mob trial that the FBI remotely activated, presumably using a special signaling plane command, a non-smartphone to turn it into a room bug. Ain't no firewall for that.
jsingleton 11y ago
You need to install Flash Player to play this content. I think not.
joshribakoff 11y ago
Would installing this spyware require physical access to the device (eg. flashing the ROM?) If so, that's kind of boring, because with physical access to the phone I could just put my own bug with its own mic, using it's own power & network inside the phone's case and easily read all your data without modifying anything on the phone or giving any "tells" like increasing network usage. Also presumably if law enforcement needed to listen in, there would be better ways to do so than to physically steal your phone... like subpoenaing the phone company.

48 points by merah 11y ago

http://googler700.blogspot.com/ http://googler700.blogspot.com/

> source code for the programme had been dumped online by hackers No references to online source or even the malware's name is made in the article. Does anyone have more information on this?

SG- 11y ago
I only read the article briefly since it seemed so light on details and honestly really bad (it seemed more like a fear mongering), but I believe they're referring to Hacking Team stuff released.
rabbidrabbit 11y ago
There appears to be some code on github[0]. I haven't looked through it yet though [0] - https://github.com/hackedteam https://github.com/hackedteam
- wcummings 11y ago
  This is it. It's from the Hacking Team dump. You can find the emails on wikileaks
dublinben 11y ago
BBC technology coverage is almost universally terrible. They hardly ever provide links to further information, which is appalling for an online news site.
jsingleton 11y ago
The article links to https://www.4armed.com/blog/hacking-team-rcs-analysis-hacked-team https://www.4armed.com/blog/hacking-team-rcs-analysis-hacked... which has a detailed analysis of RCS including source code.

rasputhin 11y ago

Spooks? 😨 Must be brit slang.. Lol

lorenzhs 11y ago
It's another word for spies. I never realised it had a completely different meaning in colloquial American English.

yoz-y 11y ago

Hm, is there currently any mobile anti-virus software available that would have caught and blocked the Hacking Team exploits before the reveal? Are there actually any "standard" security procedures for mobile? I suppose a vast majority of customers simply trust OS vendors to release a secure environment.

jandrese 11y ago
Unless you jailbreak your phone you are basically forced to trust the vendor. Even with a jailbreak there are lots of places to hide something like this. If there is a hack in the baseband firmware on your phone you are basically out of luck.
- Zigurd 11y ago
  > If there is a hack in the baseband firmware on your phone you are basically out of luck. You are out of luck. Around 2005/2006 it was revealed in a mob trial that the FBI remotely activated, presumably using a special signaling plane command, a non-smartphone to turn it into a room bug. Ain't no firewall for that.

jsingleton 11y ago

You need to install Flash Player to play this content. I think not.

joshribakoff 11y ago

Would installing this spyware require physical access to the device (eg. flashing the ROM?) If so, that's kind of boring, because with physical access to the phone I could just put my own bug with its own mic, using it's own power & network inside the phone's case and easily read all your data without modifying anything on the phone or giving any "tells" like increasing network usage. Also presumably if law enforcement needed to listen in, there would be better ways to do so than to physically steal your phone... like subpoenaing the phone company.