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cellphone security


Mobile Emergency: 1.3 Million Cell Phone Spies

Posted on Monday, July 16th, 2012 by

Less than two months ago, we published an article detailing how cell phone companies routinely sell your personal cell phone data to local and federal law enforcement without a warrant or any oversight at all.

Well, according to an article recently published in the New York Times by Eric Lichtblau, it looks like the problem is actually much worse than anyone knew. Not only did law enforcement routinely ask cell phone carriers for personal cell phone data, they made (at least) 1.3 million requests just last year alone. Read More

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Covering Your Ass-ets: Average Internet User Risks $37,000 In Online Accounts

Posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 by

If you’re like most people, you are not covering your “ass-ets” across all digital devices.

A global study from McAfee revealed that consumers place an average value of $37,438 on the “digital assets” they own across multiple digital devices, yet more than 33% lack protection across computers, smartphones, and tablets.

Despite the high financial and emotional value of their assets stored in various places, 32% of the consumers who don’t use security protection on all of their devices still don’t think they need it.

However, 86% did agree that purchasing security protection was money well spent (ahem, like using a personal VPN). Read More

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Cell Phone Companies Sell Your Information to the Police

Posted on Monday, May 28th, 2012 by

Did you know that cell phone companies routinely sell personal cell phone data to the police without a warrant or any oversight at all?

If you’re like most Americans, you probably know nothing about it.

No one outside of law enforcement and the cell phone companies know exactly what information is being exchanged and how often. Congress and the courts have no idea either.

And the cell phone companies are fighting very hard to keep it that way. Read More

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Distressingly Fragile: Digital Information and Things That We Trust That We Shouldn’t

Posted on Monday, August 15th, 2011 by

It might sound crazy, but it’s actually rather simple for some cyberpunk to drive to where you live or work, park out front, and put up cellphone antenna aimed at your home or office to hack your cell phone conversations, text messages, even emails. Think it’s not so simple? Think again, says CEO Kent Lawson, in this special post from May that we’re publishing again as part of our “Best of…” series. Click above to read all of Kent’s thoughts on a few “distressingly fragile” mobile trends you need to know about. Read More

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Encryption Matters: More on the Privacy-Violating Wifi-Snooping Bird

Posted on Monday, August 15th, 2011 by

Here is some more information — and a video — on the WASP spying “bird” we’ve previously reported on that can sniff out communications over cellphones, laptops, and smartphones. If ever there was a time to invest in some encryption, now is the time to consider using a personal VPN.  As the founders explain, “they built WASP to show just how easy it is, and just how vulnerable you are.”

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Wifi Bird Snooper: In Starbucks, No One Can Hear Your Laptop Scream

Posted on Thursday, August 11th, 2011

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a WiFi bird snooper? The New York Times has an interesting look into a remote-controlled bird named WASP that is barely four feet long yet becomes “an imperceptible, quietly humming little creature when it hovers overhead.” The article says it could be deployed over an office building to sniff out information going across its wireless network. If the office network is well-secured, “the plane could follow one of its employees on a trip to a neighborhood Starbucks to use the cafe’s WiFi network [and] mimic the cafe’s network, luring the unwitting employee and allowing access to a laptop or cellphone.” As the article suggests, “in Starbucks, no one can hear your laptop scream.” Read More

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Geolocation Drama: Microsoft Curbs Wifi Location Database

Posted on Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 by

Due to growing privacy concerns – and repeated, ongoing privacy questions from CNET — Microsoft has moved to curb its WiFi location database. In a statement, the company says it is “keenly aware of the sensitivity around all privacy issues, especially those surrounding geolocation.” Click above to read more. Read More

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Out-Smart GPS Tracking: New Online Security Tips for You

Posted on Thursday, July 21st, 2011 by

Check out this article and read more about the five new entries that are now part of private-i’s “How To” section. From mobile-phone privacy to managing browser security settings, it’s never been easier to protect your privacy online. Want to learn a trick to out-smart GPS tracking via your smartphone? We’ve got that covered too!

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Phone-Hacking Lesson #1: Change Your Passwords Often

Posted on Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

The Murdoch phone-hacking scandal is all over the news lately, but experts say the hacking probably didn’t even take that much effort. According to social-media site Mashable, it’s likely that “the victims left a default password provided by the carrier on their phone and the hackers merely guessed correctly [since] some carriers still use default passwords. Lesson: Change your passwords often.” The article notes there are more technologically savvy ways to hack your phone, tablet, or laptop, so read the entire article to learn other ways to protect yourself.

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Infographic: Do You Care About Mobile Phone Privacy?

Posted on Thursday, July 7th, 2011

Because our smartphones are attached to us at all times, we often view them as an extension of our person. However, an insightful essay and accompanying infographic in The Atlantic says “that thing you’re carrying around, that thing you tell all of your secrets to, isn’t an extension of your self. It was created by someone else, it relies on applications built by third-party developers and it transits information wirelessly through carrier networks operated by even more corporations — and all of them have access to some of your data.” Check out the entire article and an eye-opening infographic that examines consumer behaviors when it comes to smartphone use.

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