Can You Hear Me Now?

~I recently stumbled across this fascinating article about an interesting use for a cellular phone. To summarize, the FBI was able to turn a mobster's cell phone into a listening device--a bug--by remotely reprogramming it. In other words, your cell phone can be used to listen in on you, should someone take the trouble to remotely hack into and reprogram it.

In fact, according to a security guide from the U.S. Department of Commerce, "a cellular telephone can be turned into a microphone and transmitter for the purpose of listening to conversations in the vicinity of the phone." For even more fun, this article from the Financial Times describes how your wireless phone company can "remotely install a piece of software on to any handset, without the owner's knowledge, which will activate the microphone even when its owner is not making a call." I wonder if they charge extra for that.

All of this may sound unnerving, but here's where the story gets really strange: apparently, these cellular bugging techniques can work whether the phone is on or off. This is because some phone models (I'm looking at you, Nokia users!) never fully power down as long as a charged battery remains attached to the handset. If your phone has been converted into a bug, the only way to keep it from listening in on you is to physically remove the battery.

Just a little something to think about when you're discussing a sensitive topic within range of a cellphone, which may or may not be listening to you...~Oyasumi!