Remotely Activating Camera / Mic

Jado1981 · 08-20-2012, 08:04 PM

I was listening to the radio today and someone called in and said he had worked for a cell company and was fired for spying on his ex g/f's iphone and seeing her gps coordinates. He said he could remotely turn on his ex's camera and/or mic at any time and see whatever it was pointing at (he said most of the time it was the ceiling of her car). He also said this was all done without j/b any phone. Lastly, he was fired for it, as he most certainly should have been.

Which brings me to my question... Is this bull? I have a hard time believing the folks at att could just willy-nilly turn on my camera or mic and listen in as much as they'd like. I do understand that via icloud, and other gps apps, I can see gps location. Is this verified? Has anyone else done this, or was he just a billy-joe badass on the radio?

I'm now thinking of wrapping my phone in foil when I don't need it...

Fight9 · 08-21-2012, 12:39 AM

It would be naive to think this wasn't possible by telephone companies and the government.

[Enter conspiracy theory here]

---------- EDIT ----------

There is a tweak in Cydia that can do this also.

l8ter · 08-21-2012, 02:13 AM

These are no conspiracy theories rather conspiracy facts !!!

And dont you think that your pc or mac or laptop is yours , no he got several masters that he listens to .

kanjo · 08-21-2012, 07:01 AM

just as with any trade there are "secrets" or tricks within them that you only learn from being in that field.

example I worked with a sparky (australian slang for electrician) for a while and I learned that most any sparky can bypass/disable any alarm installed in a home because it is their job to install them so they know how to get around them. scary shit. So it wouldn't be such a stretch for a phone company or technology company worker to at some point in their career learn how to access a device like OP stated.

wouldn't surprise me the slightest bit if there was concrete proof of it.

Jado1981 · 08-22-2012, 09:23 AM

Anybody here work for a cell phone company? I'd love to pick their brain and see if that's a remote possibility. I assume that since the guy said "used to have to jailbreak" and "iphone", that he is refering to at&t, since they were the only carriers for a long while.

Today I heard a commercial for a security app that you enable, and as soon as you open it, it records and broadcast your conversation/gps/camera to a center and they can monitor you, and possibly notify police/help. (all in the name of safety, ie, if you were walking in a bad area, or approached by some possible bad guys). That app isnt a far cry from what we are talking about, except, you give that security company permission.

l8ter · 08-22-2012, 09:35 AM

And all that we are talking here gets scanned to check for suspicious words .NSA checks all emails telephone calls no matter if mobile ot calls from a home.

The nsa has won bureaus @ At&t to control all phone calls and all internet traffic.

If they want to get your ass they are gonna get em.

Jado1981 · 08-22-2012, 07:35 PM

I most understand that, and certainly feel like a tinfoil hat kinda guy sometimes. I never really think about the nsa, I do know all tweets/facebooks... are being kept by them. I knew about echelon, but nothing really else. What I see as a difference with all of that is that they intercept a digital communication over a device. If I'm having a conversation in my car with a person sitting next to me, I don't feel I'm a bit out of line in expecting I should not be listened in on (unless I was bugged or whatever) and not at the whim of some shmoe at att or wherever.

This is on a sidenote, but I watched something on tv about the russians developing the theory/project to hear conversations from a room by bouncing a laser off of glass in the room, and then directing the laser back to a panel that would convert the pulses into electrical signals to be played over a speaker. The tv host built a system that replicated it and it worked from over 75' away... very cool, and yet such a demonstration of why we should perhaps be a little regarded in what we do...

uzig718 · 08-23-2012, 01:21 PM

i can confirm that the cell companies have the ability to listen in, but they won't simply because if anyone ever found out, they would be in big trouble... there are MANY laws protecting us and even law enforcement would not take the risk of spying on us with out a warrant of some kind and even a warrant would be very hard to get. only situation where spying would be permitted was by large agencies (i will NOT name them for obvious reasons) if they are investigating national security issues or a pablo escobar in the making... other than that, us regular jo blows pirating software are not the worries of law enforcement...

and to answer the ops question, currently there is no app that i know of that can let you spy, other than CYLAY from cydia, which i personally use in case someone steals my phone, or if i let someone borrow my phone i spy on them lol cylay allows two licenses for the price so if you want to spy on your girlfriend, jailbreak her phone, hide the cydia and cylay icon, and go nuts...

charelesbovary · 08-26-2012, 06:44 PM

It is not bull... Since every electronic hardware has a signature, that signature can be accessed. This does not only apply the iPhone. Yes, your phone mic, or your laptop mic can be used to eavesdrop into your conversation or your interaction. That is why some people put a sting of bad-aid on their laptop camera depending what they are doing. The only way so far that won't happen is if there is not power circulating in the hardware i,e,. your battery is out. This is the beauty of technology, isn't it.

l8ter · 08-27-2012, 04:44 AM

Beautiful isnt exactly the word i would choose or use actually to describe this situation , but the essence of your post is correct ,i would sign that.

Jado1981 · 08-28-2012, 05:54 AM

I certainly agree with you on everything electronic having a signature. On the same tv program I was watching, the host showed an electronic typewriter the feds were using way back in the day. It was perhaps the most common typewriter around. The Russians also learned how to listen to the keys and could tell what was being typed w/o ever being able to see the typewriter or paper. That completely blew my mind, who (well obviously the Russians) could/would ever figure out how to listen to keys being typed / hammer striking the paper and being able to tell what was being written? Before watching that program, I would have called that total bs.

With all that being said, I assume that yes, the phone co. can turn on our mic/camera, but the chance of it happening is slim. The caller on the radio might have been blowing a little smoke when he talked about how often he did his spying. I am sure if I was pablo escobar or one of the big boys, my mic / camera would be on 24/7. There just seems to be so much wrong with that. 4th Amendment to the Constitution?!? (I know that applies to the feds, but it makes provisions for individuals as well.)

Phat$ · 08-29-2012, 01:06 PM

It's not only the phone co. that can do it. Read Spyware Matching FinFisher Can Take Over IPhones - Bloomberg

Quote:

FinFisher spyware made by U.K.-based Gamma Group can take control of a range of mobile devices, including Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM)’s BlackBerry, an analysis of presumed samples of the software shows.

The program can secretly turn on a device’s microphone, track its location and monitor e-mails, text messages and voice calls, according to the findings, being published today by the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs’ Citizen Lab.

The research published today by the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs - The SmartPhone Who Loved Me: FinFisher Goes Mobile? The Citizen Lab.