NSA-Style Surveillance Software Allows Everyday People to Spy on Smartphones
As above, so below.Think of this as trickle-down paranoia.
From End The Lie, more on personal surveillance creeping into mainstream...
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Commercially available NSA-style surveillance software allows everyday people to spy on smartphones
By Madison Ruppert | EndTheLie
Everyday people can now use surveillance software to spy on the phone calls and text messages of others, somewhat like a crude version of the National Security Agency (NSA) spy programs.
However, the commercially produced software can’t really hold a candle to the U.S. government’s custom malware including software enabling the remote activation of cameras and microphones, ability to track cell phones even when they’re off and massive metadata collection and analysis programs.
Let’s not forget, the software also doesn’t have the world’s largest surveillance network backing it up either.
The use of spy software made available to the public is apparently quite widespread. A new study examined data traffic of mobile devices on a European carrier’s Middle Eastern network and found that hundreds of people had surveillance software installed on their phones, according to Bloomberg.
The software isn’t the product of malicious applications users unknowingly download. Instead, they’re spyware placed by people with physical access to the device.
Mobile surveillance software is capable of everything from secretly logging all text messages, phone calls and contacts to even live eavesdropping on phone calls.
The study, conducted by Lacoon Mobile Security, a San Francisco-based startup, found that over 600 phones on the particular network had spyware.
Lacoon does research and development in Israel, according to Bloomberg, and sells mobile security software to detect malicious mobile apps and defend corporate networks. The company was founded by former members of the Israel Defense Forces.
Most of the installations were likely done by either spouse or private investigators, according to Michael Shaulov, CEO of Lacoon.
Shaulov told Bloomberg that he expects the number of infected phones to grow as the awareness of surveillance technology increases.
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Read the full article at: endthelie.com
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