Thursday 01 December 2011

Test Your Android Device For Carrier IQ Spyware    [ 01-12-2011 19:23 ]

Author: Irina Turina   Source: via Gizmodo     Translation by: Paul Smith     

The revelation that many Android handsets contain some very serious spyware that is essentially reporting everything you do on your handset to a third party is pretty scary stuff. Gizmodo are currently running a piece on which handsets they are almost sure are free of this spyware. The following models have either been found to not have the spyware or have had firm denials from the manufacturers behind them.

Nokia handsets
Windows Phone handsets
Vodafone handsets
O2 handsets
Google Nexus handsets
Original Xoom

The chap who unearthed this issue, Trevor Eckhart, has released an app that will let you know if Carrier IQ's spyware is installed on your device. One version is free and shows you whether or not the software is indeed installed whilst the pro version (£0.65) will get rid of the spyware.

In order to use these apps your Android device will have to be rooted. The apps are also only confirmed as working on select handsets at the moment.

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Video: Have An Android Phone? It's Secretly Recording EVERYTHING You Do!    [ 01-12-2011 05:52 ]

Author: Oleg Kononosov   Source: Threat Level     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Mobile privacy scares seem to be ten a penny these days, but here is one to really chill the blood. A new privacy issue has been raised with Android handsets, an issue that could see just about everything you do on your handset recorded and sent to a third party, from web searches, to location data, to your passwords. Who is behind this monumental brech in privacy? Your manufacturer and your network!

The video below was recorded by Trevor Eckhart, an Android developer, and it shows exactly what is going on behind the scenes on your handset. You will want to skip to around 9 minutes in for the bad stuff and be prepare to be shocked. At one point the video shows a phone number that is being dialled intercepted as well as a text that was sent being intercepted, including the content of the message, but it goes far beyond intercepting text messages.

The software doing the legwork was developed by a company called Carrier IQ, and they boast on their site that they are:

... the only embedded analytics company to support millions of devices simultaneously, we give Wireless Carriers and Handset Manufacturers unprecedented insight into their customers' mobile experience.

So the idea is pretty simple; manufacturers and networks want to see how you are using your device to help their market research. The thing is though that it can record just about every single action you ever take on your phone. Eckhart claims that this software is embedded in almost all Android handsets as well as BlackBerry and Nokia smartphones. The video above pertains to Anroid handsets, but it's not hard to imagine the system woring in a similar fashion on those other platforms. Oh and it doesn't matter if the handset is bought SIM free, the software is probably still there.

The software is buried very deeply on the handset an there are no warnings oropt-outs presented to the end user. In other words you would probably never know that it was even there. The software operates on a level between yourself and the applications you use, which means that even secure apps will still have their data recorded. The same is true no matter what sort of connection you are using e.g. WiFi, 3G, etc.

So what is Carrier IQ saying about this? A public statement said:

While we look at many aspects of a device's performance, we are counting and summarizing performance, not recording keystrokes or providing tracking tools.

The video above shows that not to be the case. Keystrokes are indeed recorded with unique identifying signatures that are submitted to Carrier IQ. Encrypted connections are even intercepted by this spyware and sends it to Carrier IQ as plain text.

Removing the software is near impossible, especially for average users. There are no opt-outs, no warnings and no options to deactivate the software. Even Eckhart, who is a developer himself and knows a thing or two about Android handsets, found it difficult to get rid of.

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