5 ms·

I'm kind of surprised that the phone was still able to function with so many component removed - that's cool. One thing that stood out under the "TODO" list wa

I'm kind of surprised that the phone was still able to function with so many component removed - that's cool. One thing that stood out under the "TODO" list was "Reprogram the IMEI." - I was under the impression that doing so was illegal? (not that knowing how necessarily is).

userbinator 12y ago
Yes, changing IMEI is illegal in certain countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Station_Equipment_Identity#IMEI_and_the_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Station_Eq... But if I were trying to make an "anti-surveillance" phone, I'd probably look into one of the more anonymous unbranded Chinese devices out there - especially the ones based on MTK chipsets, which have some full schematics available.
- xrjn 12y ago
  Some Chinese phones reportedly have spyware/malware that shares information back with servers in China, which transmits data regardless whether you want to or not, even without a SIM card. It's possible that there are also firmware level backdoors which can't be blocked by rooting the phone or unlocking the bootloader. [1] http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20141003000002&cid=1102 http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=2014...
- hengheng 12y ago
  Schematics on such specialized, highly integrated chips with unknown internals are almost useless from a security standpoint.
  - PhantomGremlin 12y ago
    Yes, very good point. In fact IMO "highly integrated chips" such as SoCs are usually so complicated that no single individual really knows what's in them. And that's even when a chip is designed totally in house. However, most chips have lots of 3rd party Intellectual Property in them. If my life depended on it (e.g. being a dissident in Iran or Syria) I wouldn't trust any cellphone. If pressed, I would probably use a relatively old laptop and run OpenBSD. With no GUI, just a text login. And then I'd still be concerned that there are 10 exploits that TLAs could use against me, that they keep under tight wraps. It's not paranoia if there really are people out to kill or imprison you. "The man" has so much power nowadays that I'm glad I'm living a sedentary life in a random suburb, and I'm not playing any sort of "You Bet Your Life" game.
droopybuns 12y ago
I don't belive it is illegal, unless you have stolen a phone. Doing so breaks the stolen phone databases a.k.a. Equipment Identity Registrar.
- DanBC 12y ago
  English law: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/31/section/1 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/31/section/1 You can change the information if you are the manufacturer or you have the written permission of the manufacturer. Owning the phone is not enough. I don't know what the laws are like for other countries, or if other countries even have such specific laws.
  - droopybuns 12y ago
    TY for the correction. American here, so I should have stated that my belief is based on my understanding of that marketplace. The legislation in this arena is admittedly more aggressive in Europe.
driverdan 12y ago
It makes sense that the phone would work with components removed. People break phone components all the time, it'd be unreasonable to disable the whole phone if a component stopped working.

userbinator 12y ago

Yes, changing IMEI is illegal in certain countries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Station_Equipment_Identity#IMEI_and_the_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Station_Eq... But if I were trying to make an "anti-surveillance" phone, I'd probably look into one of the more anonymous unbranded Chinese devices out there - especially the ones based on MTK chipsets, which have some full schematics available.

xrjn 12y ago
Some Chinese phones reportedly have spyware/malware that shares information back with servers in China, which transmits data regardless whether you want to or not, even without a SIM card. It's possible that there are also firmware level backdoors which can't be blocked by rooting the phone or unlocking the bootloader. [1] http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20141003000002&cid=1102 http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=2014...
hengheng 12y ago
Schematics on such specialized, highly integrated chips with unknown internals are almost useless from a security standpoint.
- PhantomGremlin 12y ago
  Yes, very good point. In fact IMO "highly integrated chips" such as SoCs are usually so complicated that no single individual really knows what's in them. And that's even when a chip is designed totally in house. However, most chips have lots of 3rd party Intellectual Property in them. If my life depended on it (e.g. being a dissident in Iran or Syria) I wouldn't trust any cellphone. If pressed, I would probably use a relatively old laptop and run OpenBSD. With no GUI, just a text login. And then I'd still be concerned that there are 10 exploits that TLAs could use against me, that they keep under tight wraps. It's not paranoia if there really are people out to kill or imprison you. "The man" has so much power nowadays that I'm glad I'm living a sedentary life in a random suburb, and I'm not playing any sort of "You Bet Your Life" game.

droopybuns 12y ago

I don't belive it is illegal, unless you have stolen a phone. Doing so breaks the stolen phone databases a.k.a. Equipment Identity Registrar.

DanBC 12y ago
English law: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/31/section/1 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/31/section/1 You can change the information if you are the manufacturer or you have the written permission of the manufacturer. Owning the phone is not enough. I don't know what the laws are like for other countries, or if other countries even have such specific laws.
- droopybuns 12y ago
  TY for the correction. American here, so I should have stated that my belief is based on my understanding of that marketplace. The legislation in this arena is admittedly more aggressive in Europe.

driverdan 12y ago

It makes sense that the phone would work with components removed. People break phone components all the time, it'd be unreasonable to disable the whole phone if a component stopped working.