As with the legend of triangulation, carefully mixing fiction with well-measured doses of truth can produce a believable-looking mixture. The most charming thing will be that not a single honest and objective specialist will say "this complete bullshit". Such a hybrid of truth and fiction can even be shown on TV, accompanied by interviews with representatives of leading telecom operators. "Is it true that your company cooperates with special services, passing them information about calls and conversations of subscribers?", the pretty presenter will ask. " We work within the law and provide the necessary assistance in solving criminal offenses,” a company representative will say. And the average person will hear what he wanted to hear: “Yes! Everything said in the show is true! You can turn on the microphone and eavesdrop on me!
Now let's try to figure it out ourselves.
The main postulates of the legend of eavesdropping:
- IN any mobile equipment initially laid the ability to provide information about the exact location of the subscriber (accurate to meters), recording and listening to conversations, and even when the mobile phone is turned off (emphasis mine, quote from the first link).
- These features can be activated by intelligence agencies or well-trained "hackers"
- The telephone user cannot detect the very fact of listening
- The presence of this possibility is confirmed by quotes from the lips of information security experts, representatives of special services and government organizations.
Imagine that such an opportunity really exists and you have become the object of listening. Your phone's microphone picks up your conversations and your phone transmits them...
This is where the fun begins. How and where does the phone transmit tapped conversations? Even the authors of articles about listening in their fantasies do not reach outright delirium like "the phone has an alternative voice codec that is used to encode speech, and the phone then transmits the received stream on a secret frequency through a separate antenna, without using base stations."
As a rule, they write that the phone, without the knowledge of the owner, makes a call to a certain number, after which everyone on the other side listens carefully and writes down.
We will stick to this version. So, your phone, without your knowledge, makes a call (using standard GSM functions) to a certain number, and you don't notice it.
This raises a number of awkward questions:
- Why is the fact of an active call not visible in the phone interface?
- How long will your phone battery last?
- what to do with characteristic pickups on the speakers of the surrounding radio equipment?
- will the call used for listening in be visible in the detailed listing of your calls?
There must be some answer to all these questions, otherwise such a call will go unnoticed for a maximum of a couple of minutes.
According to paragraph 1, they usually write that special services or a mobile operator can remotely install software on the phone, which will Hide All. However, currently there is no such way to transfer active content to the phone that will work with any phones and SIM cards. SIM-toolkit software requires appropriate SIM-cards, and cannot control the behavior of the phone in such a way as to hide the fact of the call. Software in the form of special Java Applications requires Java support in the phone (and articles about listening appeared long before the advent of MIDP 1.0), plus - the API will not allow them to control the phone sufficiently to hide the call, and installing them will require certain manipulations on the part of the owner phone (at least - open MMS/WAP-push SMS, or install the software yourself). Perhaps the situation is somewhat different with applications for the Series 40/60/80 OS or other OS for smartphones. But smartphones are far from "all phones".
There remains the option of remotely changing / replacing the firmware (firmware) of the phone. Works with any phones. Any models. Any manufacturers. In the network of any operators. To this we can only say that it makes sense for the special services that will be capable of this to retrain as mobile phone manufacturers and effortlessly survive from the market of all current players :)
Point number 2 is usually passed over in silence. However, sometimes they write that "eavesdropping can be calculated by rapidly decreasing battery charge." Which is usually enough for a maximum of 4 hours of continuous talk, after which the phone dies. Somehow not very suitable for round-the-clock stealth surveillance, huh?
Item number 3 is also either passed over in silence or listed as one of the ways to notice listening. But excuse me, in our time, only a completely unobservant person may not know about the connection between pickups on the speakers of radio equipment and the operation of a mobile phone. Again, for secretive way of listening, such a "side effect" is completely unacceptable.
Point number 4 suggests that the secret services are in cahoots with mobile operators. This collusion assumes that:
- The operator has nothing against the fact that his voice channels are used for listening, and he does not receive a cent for them. (We do not consider the option "special services pay for the listener", right?)
- The operator excludes calls to special services numbers from the detailed listing of calls and from all internal databases (ok, this can be done)
- If the listener is in the coverage area of another network (or in roaming), the operator additionally bears the costs associated with roaming and interconnect.
- This collusion is valid at least for all operators in the country where the special services in question operate.
Attention, question: what should be the motivation of the operators so that they agree to such a conspiracy - moreover, is it a secret conspiracy?
Since it is secret, then the option "to force it by law" is not suitable (laws are published). Since the collusion involves significant financial losses on the part of the operators, the motivator must be either money or fear. Fear disappears for obvious reasons. And the money... Can you imagine the secret services that pay the operator to modify the billing and the costs associated with listening? :)
(Small digression: I read the "Lawful interception" section in the MSC documentation of at least three manufacturers. Everywhere it was only about monitoring and recording calls from / to specified numbers, and not a word about the mystical "remote microphone activation", "diagnostic phone modes" etc.)
So what do we have? Some almighty intelligence agencies, with the help of a staff of brilliant engineers, are developing a way to remotely change the software of any phone (note that they develop it themselves - the intelligence services of another country will not share their developments with them). Further, these special services agree with all mobile operators to hide the fact of calls to a secret number belonging to the special services. After that, they change the software of your phone and force it to make a call to a secret number. At the risk of being noticed every second by the rapid discharge of the battery and interference with the nearest radio equipment, they have the opportunity to listen to you for about 4-5 hours (if you played into their hands and pre-charged the phone), and if you want to use GPRS, then they will almost certainly have to interrupt (rare networks and phones allow parallel support active voice channel and active GPRS session).
Excuse me, but is the game worth the candle?
Let's apply Occam's razor and try to consider alternative version. Let's say you are a mafioso and you are being followed. By court order, your phone (the number is easily recognizable) is put on a "classic" wiretap - getting the opportunity to listen to calls that you make or receive. In addition, some other information is obtained about you in a different way (perhaps not entirely legitimate). In order to be able to use this information in court and not "shine" their source / method of obtaining, this information is submitted as "a record obtained from the phone using (unnamed) special means." In addition, in their free time, representatives of the security services in (anonymous) interviews can support the legend of listening through the switched off mobile phone - just to "everyone is afraid."
Now compare both options and ask yourself - which one looks more believable and (most importantly) easier to implement?
If you're still unconvinced, shave again and consider the relative plausibility of these options:
- A young but ambitious journalist hears/reads that a high-profile arrest has been made on the basis of a "bug" installed in a mobile phone. If you write like that, then the note will be boring and uninteresting. It is much more interesting to write about Turning the Microphone On - then, in addition to the paragraph on the actual arrest, it will be possible to write ten more, stuffed with pseudo-scientific nonsense.
- You are a manufacturer of "security products for mobile communications". All sorts of scramblers, additional scramblers, foil caps, lead cases, etc. But here's the problem - your products are poorly bought. The client does not feel the need to shell out money for your inventions. You take the initiative and put in the media a series of articles about the non-illusory threat of Turning the Microphone on... (this is the category the first link seems to fall into).
Yes, I almost forgot - I promised to tell you more about quotes and links to official documents with which this legend is often propped up. Let's take the English-language article, the link to which I gave at the very beginning of the post. The article is full of quotes. I will not analyze everything in detail, I will limit myself to the very first.
What the article says: The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone"s microphone [...]. The technique is called a "roving bug," and was approved by top US Department of Justice officials [...]. The surveillance technique came to light in an opinion published this week by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. take place near a suspect's cell phone. Kaplan"s opinion said that the eavesdropping technique "functioned whether the phone was powered on or off."".
If you are not strong in English, I will translate. " The FBI has begun using a new method of surveillance: remote activation of a mobile phone's microphone. The method is called "mobile bug" and approved by the highest officials of the US Department of Justice. Judge Lewis Kaplan's opinion, released this week, brought the method to public attention. The judge made a decision. according to which the use of a "mobile bug" is recognized as legal, since [...] . The judge also noted that this eavesdropping method works whether the phone is on or off.".
Now let's see what this opinion really says: "The government applied for a "roving bug," that is, the interception of Ardito"s conversations at locations that were "not practical" to specify, as authorized by 18 U.S.C. Section 2518(11)(a). Judge Jones granted the application, authorizing continued interception at the four restaurants and the installation of a listening device in Ardito's cellular telephone. The device functioned whether the phone was powered on or off, intercepting conversations within its range wherever it happened to be." (emphasis mine).
Everything turned out to be simple. The judge approved the installation of a listening device in the suspect's cell phone. There is no word on the remote inclusion of microphones. Further down, the cited document also explicitly mentions the "installation" and subsequent "removal" of a listening device from another suspect's mobile phone.
During the period of rapid development of information technology, many are wondering how to check the phone for wiretapping. With the active use of computer technology, smartphones and the Internet, various spy applications and programs are being created that can damage office equipment and communication devices. But there are certain signs that you should pay close attention to. There are methods by which it will not be difficult to independently check whether the phone is wiretapped. We will consider in detail in our article how to eliminate "strange" interference and in which case, you will need the help of specialists.
How to identify wiretapping on the phone
Such a phenomenon as wiretapping a mobile phone has its own unique features by which it can be identified. Getting access to the phone of another person is quite simple. If there are suspicions that your own device is being tapped, then do not hesitate and urgently send it for diagnostics.
Detectives and telecom specialists know exactly how to check the phone for wiretapping, but first try to do it yourself so as not to spend money on company services. Of course, such diagnostics cannot guarantee an absolute result, but the presence of an extraneous network will certainly be detected.
The main signs of attachment to a listening device
To check the phone for wiretapping, you need to remember the basic signs of interaction with a listening device. Many of them can be on ordinary faulty devices. Make sure this is not your case.
1. The battery runs out quickly. Of course, this is not always an accurate indicator, because it is also inherent in devices on which many applications and games are installed. But it is a completely different matter when the phone can be in the wrong hands, disappear from the field of view of its owner (at night you cannot control) and there are no running programs on it. If in a calm state the mobile device is discharged in just an hour or two, then this is a clear signal that there is wiretapping on it.
2. The device spontaneously turns off, reboots or turns on the backlight. If all of the above problems are not related to violations in the operation of the Android or iOS operating system, then there is already a high probability that interference is being created on the side. Remember that when the phone is still tapped on the screen, nothing new and superfluous is displayed, but during operation, periodic failures may occur.
3. During a conversation, extraneous sounds are constantly heard. The presence of other connected networks prevents the subscriber from getting through to another number - this takes many times longer than without wiretapping. If during a telephone conversation there are small noises and a noticeable echo of both voices, this means that a special listening program is connected. It happens when the subscriber hears only himself, and not his interlocutor. Cellular interferes with radio, TV, stereo. Even in the off state, the phone may flicker when approaching any other devices.
4. After replenishing the account for no reason, an impressive amount of funds was debited. If you find such a problem, you need to call the operator on the hotline to clarify the circumstances or go to your Personal Account on the Internet and look at "Expense of funds". If there is no error, then we can assume that information about calls and messages was sent to the listening program along with the balance.
If you suspect the operation of eavesdropping systems, it is recommended to contact the service to eliminate bugs and other special programs, or change your gadget.
Do not forget that you can install wiretapping on every phone, regardless of its cost or year of manufacture. Of course, the very first push-button models are amenable to this only after installing bugs, and not with the help of the network or the Internet, since they do not have operating systems, but even these cases are a cause for concern.
Is it possible to buy a bug for wiretapping
Previously, only law enforcement agencies had access to spy equipment, and only special services could install it on the required number. Today, with the development of Internet technologies, a bug can be inexpensively bought online. This is a small program for wiretapping a cell phone, able to work for you and for your needs. However, there is one big but in order to install the application - access to someone else's device is required. Advantage - works on all brands and even very outdated ones. This will inform you about calls and correspondence in SMS messages.
I must say that the price of a quality product is relatively high - several tens of thousands of rubles, for this reason, a bug for wiretapping is not used so often. In addition, there are more advanced remote methods, which involve remote connection to a cellular network operator and the introduction of special applications at the software level. Our service sells similar equipment for domestic use.
Listening at a distance
The most popular method among users. No need to look for the moment when a person leaves the phone unattended, deal with spyware installations, and through services you can manage it anonymously. Absolutely all modern devices fall into the risk group, and given that they are used by all age categories of citizens, any person can be put under control. The smartphone in the active state creates very slight interference that is invisible, the battery does not discharge, everything works as usual, as a result, you can listen to other people's conversations at a distance and read another subscriber without the danger of being detected.
To eliminate the possibility of listening to a mobile device at a distance, a few tips from experts will help:
- do not give confidential information over the phone
- do not use your cell phone for business negotiations
- a conversation that takes place in a moving car is much more difficult to listen to due to noise and frequency changes
- no need to take risks and trust phone repair to an unfamiliar office with a dubious reputation
How to listen to your wife's phone without installing programs
The same question is asked by women who want to check their husband. Today, all communication is built through mobile communications, which means that this is the main channel of reliable information. If you do not have the opportunity to check the phone of your wife or husband, then choose remote connection methods, alas, they are possible only with the help of specialists. However, they do not require the search and installation of programs, which is fraught for both you and someone else's phone. You can download a program stuffed with viruses and lose your personal data, and for another person, the harm can be even more global - theft of passwords, all documents downloaded on a smartphone. At best, there will be a stupid toy informing that the subscriber is online or busy without indicating and providing telephone conversations to the spouse. The service of wiretapping the wife's (husband's) phone will help to convict your other half of betrayal during a divorce.
In order to wiretap on someone else's phone, you just need to send us a mobile number, no other information is required. After testing the device, our company on the server will connect the monitored number to a backup channel, from where the information will "leave" to you. The service is paid once and is valid indefinitely. The entire device will be under control, for example, if a smartphone has two SIMs, then information is collected from all numbers connected to this phone.
Knowing how to check the phone for wiretapping, you can not be afraid for the integrity and safety of the device, as well as for yourself. At the first "bells" it is necessary to immediately contact the repair shops, which will carry out diagnostics. If wiretapping is installed remotely, they will not help. You need to look for specialists who, through requests from the provider's server, will be able to remove the channel for duplicating your conversations and SMS messages. Send your orders to us via the feedback form.
What is included in the package of services for monitoring other people's conversations:
- Copying all data from a monitored device
- Fixing incoming and outgoing calls
- Detailed information about subscribers
- Online recording of all telephone conversations
- Audio files - conversations in MP3 format with the ability to download to a computer
- Detailed SMS messages
- Determining the location of the device on the map
- Surround Listening
- Managing applications, files and folders
Instruction
Pay attention to the temperature of the battery. It is worth noting that a phone that has a warm and even hot battery even when the device is not in use. During a call, the battery may heat up, but if this happens too quickly, then the phone may have spyware installed.
Notice unusual behavior of the device, which will help to avoid illegal eavesdropping on your conversations. If the phone call is going on for a very long time, then this may indicate that your mobile is being actively tapped. The shutdown process may be accompanied by a flashing screen and backlight. In some cases, the phone cannot be turned off at all. Of course, this may indicate its malfunction.
Monitor battery status. In the event that the phone has a dangerous application for talking, it will be discharged much faster. But this is only necessary if the device worked on a single charge for several days within a month, and now the battery has begun to discharge within one day. After all, over time, the battery tends to wear out. By the way, fast may depend on the fact that the mobile phone records conversations in the room in which it lies.
Listen to the noise that occurs when talking to the device. When listening to the phone during a call, you may hear strange noises. Clicks, echoes, and an incomprehensible rumble may be evidence that someone is listening to you. In the event that you are not talking on the phone, but you hear a pulsating noise, then this should especially alert you. Also, interference on electronic devices that a mobile gadget creates while you are not using it can mean it.
Related videos
note
If you think that you are being eavesdropped on the phone, then contact law enforcement for help. Using special equipment, they will check your guesses and confirm or refute them.
Useful advice
In order to greatly reduce the likelihood of listening to the telephone, you should not repair the phone in workshops that cause distrust.
If you do not want your phone to know your location, then be sure to turn off the device and remove the battery.
Never have an important business conversation on your cell phone.
In a car that is moving, it is more difficult to intercept a conversation, as the signal weakens and the distance between the intercepting equipment increases.
Sources:
- how to find out eavesdropping
- How to listen to conversations on a mobile phone
No matter how hard a person tries to protect his personal life from intrusion, there will always be those who want to take possession of confidential information. One of the most annoying ways to do this is listening phone. This is how scammers try to find out the details of your personal life, gain access to business information, and compromise you. Fortunately, there are ways to determine if your phone is being tapped or not.
Instruction
Listening is carried out through special spyware. Spies are launched through viruses, the Internet, messages or other means. These programs even when you are not using your phone. Therefore, if the phone's battery remains warm after several hours of standby, the phone is running spyware. That is why the phone battery heats up and discharges very quickly, even in standby mode.
Another suspicious sign is the phone turning off. If your phone seems to freeze before shutting down or the backlight starts flashing, then a program is being completed, maybe a spyware. In general, pay attention to all the oddities in the behavior of the phone, especially spontaneous switching on and off - they can be caused by third-party software. However, do not panic - these can be common technical problems.
Hello! Welcome to my mobile phone security blog! Have you ever thought about how possible it is to listen to a mobile phone for free, by an outsider? Can anyone install a special application on your smartphone that opens unlimited access to any information from the device's memory? You will find the answer in this article, since this question also interested me a lot. At the very end of the presented material there will be a link to a useful video. You can immediately go there if you don’t want to read the whole text.
As for such programs, there are many of them on the Internet. I decided to check if such applications really work. Many promise to listen to a mobile phone for free, but what do we actually see? One scammer comes across! I reviewed a large number of software, but simply did not find anything really working. But I caught the eye of an interesting service that provides the possibility of backing up information. It is about him that I will tell further.
The versatility of the service lies in the support of a large number of applications from which you can collect the history of correspondence. Who will benefit from this? Yes, to anyone, because you cannot be insured against the accidental loss of a smartphone. If you use your phone for business and office communications, it's a good idea to make regular backups. This service is able to perform such operations independently, in a fully automatic mode!
I installed a special application in Android that collects and archives data, and then sends it to the server. There is a personal account, access to which no unauthorized person can get. Only the person who installed and configured the application. As for the supported software, there are clients for almost all social networks and messengers! Vkontakte, Facebook, Odnoklassniki, My World, WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, ICQ - this is not a complete list.
But what happens if an outsider installs such an application for you? Free listening to a mobile phone will be possible simply due to the fact that the recordings of conversations are stored in a backup. And it does not matter at all whether it will be the application described above, or some other, but with the same functions. Antiviruses do not block such software, since there is no virus code in it. Yes, and protection from deletion will not allow you to get rid of the program using standard means of the mobile OS.
I realized one thing: you should treat your mobile phone more carefully! Do not leave it unattended in the office, do not pass it on to unfamiliar people! As for the described service, the following is a link to a useful video. In it, I will talk about how to properly install the program and configure it. But remember that you cannot use such an application on someone else's mobile phone! Personal life is confidential, and few phone owners would like this.
The most obvious way is official wiretapping by the state.
In many parts of the world, telephone companies are required to provide access to eavesdropping lines to the competent authorities. For example, in Russia, in practice, this is carried out technically through SORM - a system of technical means to ensure the functions of operational-search activities.
Each operator is obliged to install an integrated SORM module on his PBX.
If the telecom operator has not installed equipment on its PBX to wiretap the phones of all users, its license in Russia will be canceled. Similar programs of total wiretapping operate in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, the USA, Great Britain (Interception Modernization Program, Tempora) and other countries.
The venality of government officials and intelligence officers is well known to everyone. If they have access to the system in "god mode", then for the appropriate fee you can get it too. As in all state systems, in the Russian SORM there is a big mess and typical Russian gouging. Most of the technical specialists are actually very low-skilled, which allows unauthorized access to the system without the intelligence agencies themselves noticing.
Telecom operators do not control when and which of the subscribers are listened to on SORM lines. The operator does not check in any way whether there is a court sanction for wiretapping a particular user.
“You take a certain criminal case about the investigation of an organized criminal group, in which 10 numbers are listed. You need to listen to someone who has nothing to do with this investigation. You just finish off this number and say that you have operational information that this is the number of one of the leaders of the criminal group, ”says knowledgeable people from the Agentura.ru website.
Thus, through SORM you can listen to anyone on "legal" grounds. This is such a secure connection.
2. Listening through the operator
Cellular operators generally view the list of calls and the history of movements of a mobile phone, which is registered in various base stations according to its physical location, without any problems. To get call records, like the secret services, the operator needs to connect to the SORM system.
It makes little sense for Russian law enforcement agencies to install Trojans, unless they need the ability to activate the microphone of a smartphone and record, even if the user is not talking on a mobile phone. In other cases, SORM does an excellent job with wiretapping. Therefore, the Russian special services are not very active in introducing Trojans. But for informal use, it's a favorite hacker's tool.
Wives spy on their husbands, businessmen study the activities of competitors. In Russia, Trojan software is widely used for wiretapping by private clients.
The Trojan is installed on a smartphone in various ways: through a fake software update, through an email with a fake attachment, through a vulnerability in Android, or in popular software like iTunes.
New vulnerabilities in programs are found literally every day, and then closed very slowly. For example, the FinFisher Trojan was installed through a vulnerability in iTunes that Apple did not close from 2008 to 2011. Through this hole, it was possible to install any software on behalf of Apple on the victim's computer.
It is possible that such a Trojan is already installed on your smartphone. Didn't it seem to you that the smartphone's battery has recently been discharged a little faster than it should be?
6. Application update
Instead of installing a special spyware Trojan, an attacker can do something even smarter: choose an application that you voluntarily install on your smartphone, and then give it full authority to access phone calls, record conversations, and transfer data to a remote server.
For example, it can be a popular game that is distributed through the "left" directories of mobile applications. At first glance, an ordinary game, but with the function of wiretapping and recording conversations. Very comfortably. The user, with his own hands, allows the program to access the Internet, where it sends files with recorded conversations.
Alternatively, the malicious functionality of the application may be added as an update.
7. Fake base station
The fake base station has a stronger signal than the real BS. Due to this, it intercepts the traffic of subscribers and allows you to manipulate data on the phone. Fake base stations are known to be widely used by law enforcement agencies abroad.
In the USA, a fake BS model called StingRay is popular.
And not only law enforcement agencies use such devices. For example, merchants in China often use fake BS to send bulk spam to mobile phones that are within a radius of hundreds of meters around. In general, in China, the production of “fake honeycombs” is put on stream, so it’s not a problem to find a similar device in local stores, assembled literally on the knee.
8 Femtocell Hacking
Recently, some companies have been using femtocells - low-power miniature cellular stations that intercept traffic from mobile phones that are in range. Such a femtocell allows you to record calls from all employees of the company before redirecting calls to the base station of cellular operators.
Accordingly, to wiretap a subscriber, you need to install your own femtocell or hack the operator's original femtocell.
9. Mobile complex for remote wiretapping
In this case, the radio antenna is installed close to the subscriber (works at a distance of up to 500 meters). A directional antenna connected to a computer intercepts all phone signals, and at the end of work it is simply taken away.
Unlike a rogue femtocell or a Trojan, here the attacker doesn't have to worry about breaking into the site and installing the femtocell and then removing it (or removing the Trojan without leaving a trace of the hack).
The capabilities of modern PCs are enough to record a GSM signal on a large number of frequencies, and then crack the encryption using rainbow tables (here is a description of the technique from a well-known specialist in this field, Carsten Nohl).
If you voluntarily carry a universal bug with you, you automatically collect an extensive dossier on yourself. The only question is who will need this dossier. But if needed, he can get it without much difficulty.
