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I have mixed feelings about a phone that might lull me into thinking it's not a computer controlled by a hostile entity. Carrying a cheap android, I know I hav
by sevensor 8y ago
I have mixed feelings about a phone that might lull me into thinking it's not a computer controlled by a hostile entity. Carrying a cheap android, I know I have an attacker in my pocket. On the other hand, I like the idea of being able to mitigate the danger further than I can already.
- paulcarroty 8y ago> Carrying a cheap android, I know I have an attacker in my pocket. You have an spy on your pocket. Cheap spy or costly, don't matter
- sevensor 8y agoSurely it's more nuanced than that! I like the idea of my pocket-spy definitely, for sure, not being able to turn on the wifi radio because I've cut the power with a hardware switch. What worries me is that this ability might cause complacency.
- nickpsecurity 8y agoNot if they can hack it remotely with 0-days or get you to install a backdoored app. Then, they just leak the secrets out gradually or all at once when you reconnect.
- Zelmor 8y agowhat ifs
- sevensor 8y agoI suppose it depends on what information you're trying not to leak? If you're trying not to leak, say, your browser history, I'm fully in agreement with you. But if you're trying not to leak a list of wifi hotspots picked up by the wireless radio, then there's no way the phone can leak information it never had.
- miloignis 8y agoThis feels like a bit of an odd position to me, as it looks like this would legitimately be a computer not controlled by a hostile entity, to the same degree that most desktops or laptops running Linux would be. What are your outstanding concerns about control?
- mattnewport 8y agoI like this approach but I don't think you take it far enough. I like to scatter broken glass around my apartment so I don't lull myself into a false sense of security that it's safe to walk to the bathroom in the dark. I also have my girlfriend poison some of my meals at random so I don't get complacent about food being safe to eat.
- sevensor 8y agoLook, if you want to attack my point with a house analogy, you're doing it wrong. A better attack by analogy would be, "I don't want a lock on my front door, because locks make you complacent."
- mattnewport 8y agoIf you think your analogy makes my point better than mine then you haven't understood my point. I might also have mentioned how I only befriend convicted criminals to avoid falling into the trap of thinking I can trust my friends, or how I only hire accountants who have been convicted of defrauding their clients so I don't get complacent about checking they are not stealing money from me.