Edward Snowden Designed an iPhone Case to Guard Against Radio Snitching

[Trik]

The conspiracy wing nuts are going to LOVE this. I hope it comes with a little tin foil hat and spray bottle of vinegar (to protect from "chem trails")

You know, maybe if I was some sort of secret spy or high ranking political figure with valuable info or rouge military traitor looking to sell info to Russia- looking to evade government monitoring, etc it would be great. But as an everyday person I see zero use for this. The government is gonna do their thing. I don't like it at all from a privacy standpoint, but I'm not going to go crazy out of my way when I am a law abiding citizen.

To monitor the phone for a hack/malware installed (presumably by the government?) that first tricks you into thinking you're in airplane mode but not and then sucks info out of your iPhone. I don't think the majority of people regularly use airplane mode unless on an airplane.

Isn't the power button technically a soft button- or at least semi-soft (hold for 10sec to force off). You think you swiped right to turn off your phone? Think again!

Anyways, it's great to see Mr. Snowden is making the best of his time in Russia. He must be desperate to be catering to the untreated paranoid schizoids of the world. If you want to go off the grid, don't use a cell phone.

We sit in our ivory towers, enjoying our western democracies and we think... why would anyone need this.

I understand where you are coming from... but people need a cell phone, you can't just go off the grid, otherwise you're not going to be helping many people. Try being an LGBT rights activist in Iran. Try helping women escape from stoning in Nigeria. Then... when your own government is trying to catch you, you suddenly realize these devices aren't just for "secret rogue military traitors"... The world is a scary place outside your Boston apartment complex.

 

[sudo1996]

Anyways, it's great to see Mr. Snowden is making the best of his time in Russia. He must be desperate to be catering to the untreated paranoid schizoids of the world. If you want to go off the grid, don't use a cell phone.

He's catering to reporters in Turkey, Israel, Syria, China, and North Korea who are trying to spread information without being caught. Did you see what Erdogan just did? That's a U.S. ally I'm talking about, for crying out loud.

 

[Superhai]

Just to play devil's advocate: how do I trust this case if I can't trust airplane mode?

How can I trust that airplane mode is off? Maybe it is not a phone I am looking at, or my e-mails are not coming from outside but the inside. Or what if I leave my phone behind, how can I trust that it is not following me? What what...

So far no-one is claiming that an uncompromised iPhone is transmitting in default airplane mode, the clue here is the uncompromised part. It is also easy to test if the phone is transmitting when it should not, even for electronics/physics novices.

Of course as the radio transmitters are switched on/off from software only during airplane mode the iPhone can be compromised and this software function reprogrammed. I doubt a case like this will be more than a novelty for most people, but some people are really at risk. I do however believe that having a Snowden stamp of approval is more a marketing gimmick, even tough I believe that Snowden would be one of the individuals who are both at risk and could know about the risk of hacking a phone. The proof being that it so quickly gained attention.

Another thing for you tinfoilers, you can turn on the wi-fi radio while still being in "airplane mode", the reason is of course otherwise you could not use the increasingly popular Internet services onboard commercial airlines.

For me I like to use airplane mode to save battery when I want to use my iPhone to listen to music, watch movies, take pictures or videos, or even use the gps without being disturbed, as without the need to receive/transmit cellular signals it increases the battery time immensely. It is even better than silent mode. And lo and behold, my friends do survive waiting for me to answer them back after a few hours. They even still remember who I am.

 

[needfx]

well, didn't know this was in the works, maybe he thought he should ride the wave

 

[gnasher729]

I had no idea GPS was on in Airplane Mode!

What else is still on in Airplane Mode? I must adjust my use of my iPhone. This news makes me suspicious of Apple.

Just read a Wikipedia article explaining GPS. GPS does _only_ receive data. It doesn't transmit anything.

However, just out of curiousity, in which situation would you change your use of the iPhone if GPS can be turned on in Airplane mode, considering GPS is only turned on by apps that _you_ allowed to use GPS, and that use GPS so your phone knows where in the world it is?

It's funny reading people posting that they don't care that the government watches them, or if you need to have your phone in airplane mode you shouldn't have a phone anyway. That's not the point. The user should have the ability to switch of the data transmission of their device. Seems like a basic premise. Why a phone still transmits while in airplane mode is ridiculous.

GPS doesn't transmit.

gps is probably always on for find my iphone
not negating that this can't be used for other obscure stuff of source

GPS is a battery eater, so it will be turned off unless you have an app that requires it. People often enter airplane mode to safe battery life; turning GPS on would more than defeat this. But it wouldn't work anyway: For Find My Phone to work, the phone _must_ send its location to Apple, so WiFi or 3G would have to be turned on. It would be reasonable if the phone updated its location just before WiFi and 3G are turned off.
[doublepost=1469399316][/doublepost]

His story is either truth, he was a tool in a bigger operation, or he was a spy. Either way....what qualifies him to make security devices? He can install Windows XP and remove spyware?

This kind of device, that just recognises that your phone is transmitting something, isn't particularly hard to build. Give me $100,000 and I'll find someone who can build it. Convincing people to buy it and making a profit, that would be the hard part, and that's where his name and notoriety may help.

Personally, I think it is certainly possible if a device is thouroughly hacked that turning on "Airplane mode" doesn't actually turn it on, but your phone still displays the proper icons for airplane mode, and then it could transmit your secret data. But think about it: If the phone is hacked so it can transmit your secret data, it could just transmit the secret data when airplane mode isn't turned on!

The only scenario where you would want to transmit with Airplane mode turned on is when James Bond turns Airplane mode on before entering some world destroying maniac's headquarters so he can't be detected, but the world destroying maniac planned for that, hacked James Bond's phone and it sends wild signals that the manic detects and 007 gets caught.

 

[applepuree]

If your going to go into airplane mode so you cant be tracked, either leave the phone somewhere else or turn the damm thing off! problem solved.

 

[satcomer]

If you really are that scared just take some aluminum foil and line you current case. Just don't be surprised if Blu-Tooth or cellular might stop working too.

 

[ardent73]

<SNIP>

[doublepost=1469399316][/doublepost]
This kind of device, that just recognises that your phone is transmitting something, isn't particularly hard to build. Give me $100,000 and I'll find someone who can build it. Convincing people to buy it and making a profit, that would be the hard part, and that's where his name and notoriety may help.

Personally, I think it is certainly possible if a device is thouroughly hacked that turning on "Airplane mode" doesn't actually turn it on, but your phone still displays the proper icons for airplane mode, and then it could transmit your secret data. But think about it: If the phone is hacked so it can transmit your secret data, it could just transmit the secret data when airplane mode isn't turned on!

The only scenario where you would want to transmit with Airplane mode turned on is when James Bond turns Airplane mode on before entering some world destroying maniac's headquarters so he can't be detected, but the world destroying maniac planned for that, hacked James Bond's phone and it sends wild signals that the manic detects and 007 gets caught.

Save $99,980, and go by an AM Radio and a roll of aluminum foil.

 

[Superhai]

GPS is a battery eater, so it will be turned off unless you have an app that requires it.

GPS-receiver does not eat battery too much, but it is the active use of the GPS for storing plots, displaying maps, especially if you have backlight on (which would be necessary to display the maps) that really kills the battery.

I know that at least my iPhone periodically checks it position, also in airplane mode, and it is the system (iOS) that does it. Why I know it? Because it is able to adjust the timezone while I am inflight if I keep it close to the fuselage/windows of the aircraft.