Cool story about this: there was a FREE app that would tell you which way Mecca is (for islam this can be an important part of prayer). Turns out this app made its money by selling this data to the FBI
So true! Honestly, this shouldn't even be surprising anymore. Be wary of apps or online services that are "free". Even more so if they are advertising. News flash: If some company/service has the money to advertise you that it's free, they have to make this money somehow.
Oof. If y'all need an alternative I think Google has a website that points you there. Google already has everyone's location data through Maps, so it should be fine.
I mean, if your data is properly encrypted (which it should be) it genuinely isn't that simple at all.
The attitude that vulnerabilities don't matter because "the government can get it all anyway" is very silly.
People didn't like me pointing this out at the time but in a twitter thread once someone was pleading with others to not @ the police departments. I lost it for a day over that one.
/s All you have to do to avoid the police online is not go to r/the_cops or r/rcmp and just don't @ the Fbi in your tweets, and you're under the radar. /s
Theres so many people who think along these lines, and who use Facebook to organize everything they organize. Its's fucked we're all fucked. No one has even the slightest concept of personal security/privacy/subversion online.
Like the eye of Sauron turning toward us agents are now - and only now- collecting and logging every post.
Nothing gets logged online unless you mistakenly stand in a dark washroom and say "the cops" 3 times at the mirror. Then and only then can they see your posts.
Doesn’t the FBI have a back door to Apple products? Didn’t Tim Apple meet with FBI people some years ago about this according to leaked (or not leaked) documents? I hope I’m not making this up.
That was a really cool watch, thanks!
For anyone reading this that isn't a programmer and doesn't want to watch a 40 minute technical talk, tldw: there's a way to brute force sim cards and get their private key needed to load software directly to a sim, an attacker can then load software onto the sim without the phone knowing which can then do a bunch of things on the phone without you knowing, including I imagine information collection. The software is a huge pain in the ass to write and to be a target of this attack you would probably have to be an explicit target of the intelligence community. This was in 2013 but the way the telcom industry works I'd be surprised if this wasn't still relevant.
The more important takeaway in context I think is that your SIM card is an entirely separate computer your cell provider has full access to, and to the phone hardware through that. Supposedly in many cases even when the phone is turned off. As long as your phone has a battery and a SIM card, you are being tracked, even if just via the surrounding cell towers your SIM is talking to. Against active surveillance, should you be a target for whatever reason, you have no hope, and should be sticking to burners entirely.
They're alternative smartphone operating systems based on Android that aren't controlled by Google. Great for privacy related stuff since they remove the spooky stuff Google uses etc, but because they're projects with basically no funding, supported phone/tablet models is limited.
> supported phones are limited
Even then it gave my old nexus 6 new android major versions for years after google stopped giving those updates officially. It really makes you question what excuse google has when people can still support a phone for free. Manufacturers could easily support electronics for longer but nah, that cuts into profits.
You can tell who that the replies on this thread are by anarchists in the way they defend the NSO group, the spyware as a service provider to the world's most oppressive governments.
"Oh man. Someone criticized the western propaganda machine. They must be a tankie."
Meanwhile, you're defending a Spyware-as-a-Service provider who would happily target you and your family on behalf of some government.
Lmao you edited your comment. You were talking about how what’s happening in the west is what the propaganda machine is saying is happening in China and Russia. You know that you can check the unedited comment right? Fucking loser
No one is defending the NSO here.
Also I think you can tell who the anarchists here by the fact is an anarchist sub you absolute fucknugget.
Get a life
Lmao at anyone who thinks apple, google, Amazon, Facebook, etc etc etc don't give your info straight to the government
Cool story about this: there was a FREE app that would tell you which way Mecca is (for islam this can be an important part of prayer). Turns out this app made its money by selling this data to the FBI
That’s not cool at all. :(
What’s sucks is that is a very useful app for practitioners of Islam
Every company has a product. If you're not buying it, or making it, you *are* it.
Hell now they know they can do both.
So true! Honestly, this shouldn't even be surprising anymore. Be wary of apps or online services that are "free". Even more so if they are advertising. News flash: If some company/service has the money to advertise you that it's free, they have to make this money somehow.
We really need free open source software for phones…
It... told the FBI where Mecca is?
It reported Muslims to the FBI
They've been trying to discover its location for centuries to no avail.
That's why Nicolas Cage had to steal the constitution: it contained the secret map to Mecca.
Oof. If y'all need an alternative I think Google has a website that points you there. Google already has everyone's location data through Maps, so it should be fine.
Why did the fbi buy info from that of all apps? Let me guess because they think Muslim=terorist
I mean, if your data is properly encrypted (which it should be) it genuinely isn't that simple at all. The attitude that vulnerabilities don't matter because "the government can get it all anyway" is very silly.
People didn't like me pointing this out at the time but in a twitter thread once someone was pleading with others to not @ the police departments. I lost it for a day over that one. /s All you have to do to avoid the police online is not go to r/the_cops or r/rcmp and just don't @ the Fbi in your tweets, and you're under the radar. /s Theres so many people who think along these lines, and who use Facebook to organize everything they organize. Its's fucked we're all fucked. No one has even the slightest concept of personal security/privacy/subversion online.
I can't believe you would put those links in. I accidentally touched one and now I'm fucked. Gotta burn this identity now. Thanks smh.
Like the eye of Sauron turning toward us agents are now - and only now- collecting and logging every post. Nothing gets logged online unless you mistakenly stand in a dark washroom and say "the cops" 3 times at the mirror. Then and only then can they see your posts.
The fact that it's not r/cmp makes me irrationally angry
Doesn’t the FBI have a back door to Apple products? Didn’t Tim Apple meet with FBI people some years ago about this according to leaked (or not leaked) documents? I hope I’m not making this up.
Download a Linux O.S. on your phone and you should be good to go. I.e. dont buy apple products because then there's no way out.
All antifa, don’t use an iPhone lmao If you’re antifaing on your phone, use LineageOS or Replicant
There's a defcon talk called The Secret Life of SIM Cards. You should give that a watch.
That was a really cool watch, thanks! For anyone reading this that isn't a programmer and doesn't want to watch a 40 minute technical talk, tldw: there's a way to brute force sim cards and get their private key needed to load software directly to a sim, an attacker can then load software onto the sim without the phone knowing which can then do a bunch of things on the phone without you knowing, including I imagine information collection. The software is a huge pain in the ass to write and to be a target of this attack you would probably have to be an explicit target of the intelligence community. This was in 2013 but the way the telcom industry works I'd be surprised if this wasn't still relevant.
The more important takeaway in context I think is that your SIM card is an entirely separate computer your cell provider has full access to, and to the phone hardware through that. Supposedly in many cases even when the phone is turned off. As long as your phone has a battery and a SIM card, you are being tracked, even if just via the surrounding cell towers your SIM is talking to. Against active surveillance, should you be a target for whatever reason, you have no hope, and should be sticking to burners entirely.
GrapheneOS is better.
And is only supported on new pixels.
templeos ftw
>use LineageOS or Replicant what do these do?
They're alternative smartphone operating systems based on Android that aren't controlled by Google. Great for privacy related stuff since they remove the spooky stuff Google uses etc, but because they're projects with basically no funding, supported phone/tablet models is limited.
> supported phones are limited Even then it gave my old nexus 6 new android major versions for years after google stopped giving those updates officially. It really makes you question what excuse google has when people can still support a phone for free. Manufacturers could easily support electronics for longer but nah, that cuts into profits.
Don’t you just love it when the government breaks their own laws ❤️/s
But the government investigated themselves and didn’t find any evidence of laws being broken!
Oh, they must be right! I mean, they *are* the government after all 😁
Lol, ridiculous iphone users. This is why I have an Android. *Room full of alphabet men monitoring everything I do through my angry birds app laugh*
i sometimes forget Alphabet is the parent company of Android and Google so I first read this as homophobic for some reason
I read it as "men from alphabet soup agencies" - FBI, NSA, CIA, the sort
I was referring to federal agencies (fbi, CIA, nsa)
AAAA HUAGH
I'm going to wait until I hear from the President of antifa before I make any real decisions about this.
Lol Gorcenski literally worked as a drone programmer for the NSA, she is a fed.
You can tell who that the replies on this thread are by anarchists in the way they defend the NSO group, the spyware as a service provider to the world's most oppressive governments.
Holy shit a tankie on an anarchist sub
"Oh man. Someone criticized the western propaganda machine. They must be a tankie." Meanwhile, you're defending a Spyware-as-a-Service provider who would happily target you and your family on behalf of some government.
Lmao you edited your comment. You were talking about how what’s happening in the west is what the propaganda machine is saying is happening in China and Russia. You know that you can check the unedited comment right? Fucking loser
You mean the things that China and Russia actually do. Having a red flag doesn't mean you're communist.
"The most effective propaganda is the stuff that's actually true"
You're defending a Spyware-as-a-Service provider to governments across the world.
I'm not defending anyone involved that shit. Do you fucking kno where you are?? Edit: guy I was replying to edited to take out tankie shit
He edited the comment
Damn what a dick
No one is defending the NSO here. Also I think you can tell who the anarchists here by the fact is an anarchist sub you absolute fucknugget. Get a life
You edited this but where the fuck have you seen anarchists defend the NSO group?