Is Your Cell Phone Privacy Threatened!
By Peter Macfarlane
Protect your children! Catch your cheating spouse!
Those are the claims made by a rash of new websites selling cellphone based tracking and spyware software. And the scariest thing is that this dreadful software does exactly what it claims.
All you need is physical access to a cellular phone for less than five minutes, and you can install a kind of 'virus' that will track locations and make conversations and text messages available to you in real time. You can access the contacts list, see photos exchanged. You can even make outgoing calls from the compromised phone via your computer....
It may well be illegal, but that probably won't stop jealous spouses. And if you can do this, just what capabilities does the real Big Brother government have?
There are very few technical restrictions on how this works. One website has a frequently asked question section that states:
"Will this work in my country? Yes! This product does not depend upon country or mobile network. It will work anywhere in the world!"
"Will I have to install any software on the phone(s) I wish to spy on? No. This product only needs to be installed on your phone."
Whereas other websites at least shows a sense of humor saying:
"It's time to catch 'em where they least expect it On Their Cell Phone! This Product Is Both Created For The Faithful And Presented To The False-Hearted To Discourage Infidelity And Renew Temperance And Virtue."
Some of these sites, it's worth noting, also sell a few more privacy-friendly products such as a cellphone voice changer. To quite a few people, this kind of service is very distasteful and flies in flagrant opposition to privacy laws and personal security.
The best advice that can be offered is the save advice that has existed for years: simply avoid cellphones. It's better to communicate via e-mail that can be made secure more easily via open source security software. If you must use a mobile, it's best to buy pre-paid anonymous phones in countries that don't ask
