A Cellphone Or… a Spy?
By
With the aid of a simple piece of software, any cellphone can turn into a device that would look good in a spy movie.
More and more often, we happen to read, on newspapers, magazines or websites, news about development of modern telecommunication technologies. A few weeks ago, for example, Italian newspapers were reporting the news of a father, who ended up under investigation for keeping his teenage kids under control through a cellphone which was turned into a real bug, able to transmit in real time, or record and transmit, whatever was happening around, even while apparently turned off.
This kind of devices, which for your ordinary Joe might be coming straight out of a 007 movie, are actually much more common, much easier, and last but not least, much less expensive than one could think.
As anyone may have noticed by observing the evolution of mobile technology in recent years, modern mobile phones are now much closer to portable computers than they are to an ordinary telephone.
And just like every PC, although with a different installation process, modern cellphones can host a wide array of software, either the normal utilities for the phone’s everyday activities (SMS, email, address book management, photo camera, MP3 player, etc), or specific products that make our phones a real multimedia station rather than a simple conversation device.
Ad esempio, oltre a programmi che, come detto sopra, possono trasformare il telephony in una microspia ricetrasmittente, spesso all’insaputa dell’utilizzatore, esistono anche altri programmi che rendono le nostre conversazioni sicure, codificando la trasmissione e rendendola inintelligibile a chi non sia in possesso dello stesso software e delle relativa chiave di decodifica.
For example, beside software that, as explained above, can turn our cellphone into a real bug, allowing third parties to listen, unbeknownst to the user, to any conversation around it even while turned off, there are also some utilities which, after being installed on a handset, make our conversations secure, by encrypting them, making any interception impossible and useless for any third party without having the relevant decryption key.
Just like a PGP key for email, this software allows to encrypt telephone communications (including SMS), by being installed on user’s handsets, along with a secret 256-bit key entered by all users. After installation the user can access the software from the Main Menu of the phone to place secure calls to other users. To place the call the user needs to enter the normal phone number of the caller from the dialer screen.
When the call is answered on the other end, the software checks for the correct keys on both ends and then initiates a 256-bit encrypted call. Missions and consultants in foreign countries do not need to be bothered of who is listening into their conversations, as they are over a data line which is heavily encrypted. At no point is any data sent over a voice channel or is in clear text type transfer.
This application ensures that information can be sent from anywhere in the world to headquarters within a few seconds. Some information requires to be sent instantaneously and requires an instant reaction. A simple call is to be placed to HQ and a conversation can take place to aid instant decision making.
The Encrypted Call Software is simple to configure. Just enter the 256-bit key on all phones that wish to communicate with each other and you are done. Simplicity of this software should not be mistaken for its performance. In the background the software uses Data Call facility provided by the network provider to seamlessly auto-adapt itself to any GSM network. The end user does not need to enter any complicated settings to make it operational, as an intelligent plug-and-play system ensures smooth operations.
For further protection, the key can be changed at any time. The software is only available for sale to Law Enforcement or related agencies.
Watch the video related to cellphone technology
David Pogue, personal-technology columnist for the New York Times, delivers an entertaining talk about the cellular technology trends of 2009. EG is the celebration of the American entertainment industry. Since 1984, Richard Saul Wurman has created extraordinary gatherings about learning and understanding. EG is a rich extension of these ideas – a conference that explores the attitude of understanding in music, film, television, radio, technology, advertising, gaming, interactivity and the …
18 Comments
August 27th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Let’s both cry.
August 27th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
oh, he said this on my birthday!
August 27th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Try the mental health section!
You are paranoid.
Any one who has that technology works for the military or government or a company with highly regulated access, and use of is strictly monitored for the vary reason you mention. You are not important enough to go to jail for 30 years and If he has it he know this.
August 27th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Spy Software is a stealthy computer monitoring software which allows you to secretly record all activities of computer users and automatically deliver logs to you via Email or FTP, including all areas of the system such as email sent, Web sites visited, every keystroke (including login/password of ICQ, MSN, AOL, AIM, and Yahoo Messenger or Webmail), file operations, online chat conversation, and take screen snapshot at set intervals just like a surveillance camera directly point at the computer monitor.
007 Spy Software , RemoteSpy are the nice choices for you.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Jealousy is a terrible thing Sherlock!! , anyway any cheat usually has the sense to delete the evidence..
August 28th, 2009 at 4:34 am
I don't think it exists. I've looked and looked and I am a genius with search engines.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:49 am
you dont need to spy on him you know now kick the bum out now .. he has lie to you .. dont take it anymore .. hes a pig. to do it to you.. get rid of the rubbish .. let her or him have him..
August 28th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
LMAO!!!!!!
August 28th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
personally, i love it. i think it engages some types of audiences really well.
but to each his own
August 28th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
See Tom Lerher
August 28th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
August 29th, 2009 at 4:18 am
awsome! both songs were excellent!
August 29th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I love this video and David Pogue! Very cool and witty.
August 29th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
30:11 song win.
August 29th, 2009 at 11:51 am
well when your husband is on the shower try to look his cellphone or when he is sleeping.. co'z dat's what my sister in law do to my brother and i help my sister in law to fine out if my brother is having an affair.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:34 am
I must not be the only one who thinks that “musical comedy”, in all its vile incarnations, represents the absolute worst in comedy or just performance in general. Worst thing you could do with an audience.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:28 am
An old fashioned land-line is more difficult to "jam" but you can disrupt one. Cell phones are easier to jam because all you need is a wide band transmitter that will interfere with a cell phone signal. This can be done in a small area to jam a cell phone that's in that area, or they can jam a site so it can't receive any cell phone signals. This is all easily detected and would be remedied very quickly by the cell company.
The easier and more effective way is to just hack the phone company computers and shut them down. No phone call, land-line or cell, would get through if the phone company computers were hacked.
"Overseas" is relative. It means outside of the US to one of our spies, but it will include the US to a spy from another country. Don't think that we're the only ones with advanced technology.
August 30th, 2009 at 7:36 am