3 ms·
I’m pretty sure the cellular baseband in your phone is closed source. Coincidentally, it also has direct access to the microphone and to an internet connection
by mikeash 8y ago
I’m pretty sure the cellular baseband in your phone is closed source. Coincidentally, it also has direct access to the microphone and to an internet connection you can’t monitor.
- jschwartzi 8y agoYeah, the baseband processor runs its own independent RTOS with full software control. Without studying, in detail, the electrical connections between the baseband and the rest of the hardware it's not possible to say that it can't record from the microphone independently of the hardware. It's easier to make that argument for the SIM card, which is actually not a SIM card but also a small ARM core that runs Java code. You can embed small programs into the SIM card which is something a lot of carriers do. The SIM card and baseband work in tight concert though and you should just assume that the connections of the baseband are available to the SIM card.
- krn 8y agoSure, but this problem is not specific to cell phones. Any IoT device which uses 2G/3G/4G is similarly vulnerable.
- mikeash 8y agoThat just reinforces the point. Why are people so scared of an Echo spying on them but not these other things?