Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Newsweek Asks: "Is Your Cellphone Spying On You?"

It's common sense that a cellphone can be used as a tracking device. However, Newsweek recently published an article, "Is Your Cellphone Spying On You?", that details how your cellphone can be turned into a truly invasive spying mechanism.

According to Newsweek, "spy phone" software now makes it easy for anybody to infect any mobile phone with a wiretapping program. The spy software is manually downloaded onto a cellphone. The download process only takes a few minutes.

Newsweek reveals that once the software is downloaded onto the phone: "The latest programs can silently turn on handset microphones even when no call is being made, allowing a spy to listen to voices in a room halfway around the world. Targets are none the wiser: neither call logs nor phone bills show records of the secretly transmitted data."

Newsweek also states that an Italian software developer is creating spyware for law enforcement agencies that will allow a cellphone to be infiltrated by spying software via a text message. Once a cellphone user opens the text message, installation of the spyware will automatically begin.

Reportedly smart phones- like iPhones and BlackBerries are the most vulnerable to spy phone software.

[SIDEBAR: While I like the convenience of modern technology, I'm beginning to have deep apprehensions (to say the least) about living in a digital world.]

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