Back in July 2015, a venerability was discovered in Android phones around the world. This threat was called Stagefright. It’s a potential exploit that lurks within the Android global system. Today, just a few months later, it has an even bigger and badder counterpart.
This is an alert: Android vs Stagefright. Or maybe I should say Stagefright 2.0. According to a tech security company called Zimperium, Stagefright 2.0 can be even more potent to even more Android smartphones. Such vulnerabilities allow hackers to encode bad viruses and malware for up to 950 million Android users, those running 2.2 and up. However, Stagefright 2.0 can target Androids running 1.0 and up, which can affect as many as 1.4 billion people worldwide. Let’s put that in perspective: That’s about 20% of the world’s population. Unlike the original Stagefright, the 2.0 version can creep through your phone through a web browser. Then it can still lurk within the Droid global system. Partnering companies Google and Samsung are offering monthly security updates to keep customers safe. Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to all Android devices. They’re articles saying these valiant efforts aren’t even going to be enough. The next security measure is scheduled for Monday, October 5. But even that is strictly for Google’s Nexus devices, which run a pure version of Android.
First and foremost: Do not panic! We at Computer Geeks, and other bloggers, don’t write such articles to cause paranoia. Alerts like this are written to raise awareness. It’s better to be told you’re at risk and have nothing happen then to be told nothing’s going to happen and then calamity strikes. With this knowledge comes power. Go to your nearest Android dealer and ask questions to see if your device is at risk. If they don’t have the answer, call Android customer service directly. But wouldn’t you think this next security measure would be available for all Android machines?
You know what I learned today? I learned as early as 2008, government agencies all over the world plotted to spy on ordinary citizens. I learned of Great Britain’s disturbing name and spy system.
It’s called the Karma Police. This mass surveillance project began in 2008 by British government spies without the knowledge, approval or debate of the British people. The UK people can thank Government Communication Headquarters, or GCHQ, for this one. For years, they recorded the online activities of every British Internet user. This include their visits to adult websites, news websites, blogs, search engines, social media sites, you name it. The GCHQ’s doings were exposed by Edward Snowden‘s The Intercept article. Not only that, these revelations come when the UK government pushes for even more surveillance. The Karma Police comes in compartments. One compartment builds profiles displaying web users’ habits. Another compartment analyses?all, and I do mean all, aspects of online communication, from emails to texting to social media postings. One compartment kept tabs on…ahem…suspicious search engine inquiries. And the GCHQ can do all this spying without any legal ramifications or accountability. By the end of 2012 (The Intercept article came out in 2014), they had about 100 billion metadata records. There is some good news to this. According to this metadata, the content of calls or emails weren’t recorded, just the senders and recipients of that call.
Well, I can take that as good news. But it still doesn’t excuse the fact this organization has countless documents of innocent people. And now they have the audacity to ask for even more surveillance? ?Yeah, I’m sure the British people will love that one. I don’t know much about their Magna Carta, but I’m sure it wouldn’t condone this any more than our Constitution would condone it. I‘m sure many British legislatures will say, “But we need it to fight terrorism and other serious crimes.” How many terrorist and serious crimes have the Karma Police caught so far?
The US and China has had a turbulent history, especially when it comes to cyber and hacking issues. It’s been one accusation and one incident after another. Now, the US and China make a cyber deal.
Both governments are negotiating a modern day arms race deal. But instead of traditional military weapons, this arms deal has to do with computer hacking. The US and China formally promise each other not to take each other’s government down by cyber attacks or hacking. These intense negotiations have been going on for weeks, just in time for Chinese President Xi Jimping’ visit?later this week. Not to mention the United Nations are having their 70th general assembly at this time. Yes, the UN is expected to address cyber security, especially when it comes to international security. One UN principal is that no nation shall engage in activities, “that intentionally damages critical infrastructure or otherwise impairs the use and operation of critical infrastructure to provide services to the public.” US officials want China to embrace such principals. Most attacks have been about theft and ID hacking, like the 22 million Office of Personal Management files that were compromised.
There’s been other attacks too, though China has either denied or played off. I’m still wondering if they had anything to do with the infamous Sony Pictures hacking of December 2014. The more I read into this, the more this reads like a lecture from the US and UN to China. This almost sounds like they’re wagging their finger and telling China, “This is bad. You should be ashamed. Don’t let me catch you doing this anymore.” But history shows us this has happened before. How many times has the opponent said, “Okay. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” only to have all hell break loose? Will China honor this UN code and US deal? Come to think of it, will the US honor this UN code and this potential deal?
The cell phone is the technology piece hardly anybody can leave home without these days. But what about those incidents where you forget or misplace your phone? That just ruins your whole day.
These cell phone carrying alternatives could help. I would suggest Purse and Boots by Elizabeth Anne Shoes. These boots have a sub-compartment that can hold any cell phone. You’ll always know where it is. And undesirables like phone thieves and pickpockets never know where it is. Sounds good, right? But Purse and Boots have two strikes against them. One, most of these boots cost around $300. Two, they’ve received many complaints about shoes not getting shipped. Though their Facebook page is up, their website isn’t. Let’s move onto the festival belt. Well, that’s just one word for it. These leather accessories aren’t just meant to hold your cell phone. They’re meant to make a fashion statement. While these are great to make a statement and keep your phone safe, there’s a conflict here. You have to be aware of what you where. What if your outfit doesn’t match your festival belt? Then there’s the Porta Pocket. You can strap it on any part of your body. It’s perfect for your workouts, and going out. And here’s a plus: if you use the Porta Pocket on a more intimate body part, it’s less likely you’ll be robbed of it. Just hope nobody’s calling or texting while it’s there. And it’s the cheaper way to go. Many Porta Pockets can go for under $20.
Yes, there is the old fashioned way, like the pocket or purse. But with that comes risk. Hacking and cell phone thefts are two of the fastest growing crimes today. It’s good to have options and alternative to curb and prevent this criminal trend. What are some of your cell phone carrying alternatives?
Remember the NSA scandal of 2013, and the revelations revealed by whistle blower Edward Snowden? Remember how most tech companies denied they willingly participated and insisted they were forced into cooperating with the NSA? Now, there’s an article out stating that may not be necessarily true. Were the NSA and AT&T in cahoots?
This article claims telecommunications conglomerate AT&T has been “highly collaborative” and talks about their “extreme willingness to help” ?with the NSA from 2003-2013. There are documents claiming they gave billions of emails to the NSA and helped in carrying out secret orders allowing wiretapping of UN headquarters. Keep in mind the UN [United Nations] is one of AT&T’s biggest customers. These documents suggest AT&T built far more surveillance equipment than Verizon and other competitors did. Not only that, AT&T was the first corporation was the first to try out NSA’s spying technology. These documents even told NSA officials to be nicer toward AT&T because, “This is a partnership, not a contractual relationship.” Snowden himself let these documents be known. News agencies from mainstream New York Times to alternative media site Pro Publica exposed them. As you would expect, AT&T didn’t comment, claiming they don’t openly talk about national security issues. It’s unclear if the NSA and AT&T is allegedly this tight today. A lot has changed in the last two years. Or has it?
The NSA surveillance scandal is going nowhere fast. It came up during the Republican presidential debate a few weeks ago. And now these revelations. These are just acquisitions. But I’ve never heard NSA get this chummy with Verizon, Yahoo, or any other telecommunications or online companies. And AT&T ?doesn’t want to comment on such matters. I think they should. A lot of people are still upset over the NSA spying on our way of life without the American people’s knowledge or approval. How upset could people be in they find out AT&T was this in cahoots with the NSA? How bad will that be for AT&T’s business?
Yesterday, news broke that Russia is the main suspect in launching a sophisticated cyber attack against the Pentagon. This international hacking confirmed what many of us in the tech industry already knew: nation is on the cyber warpath against nation.
According to leading mainstream US news agencies like NBC News, US officials accuse Russia of cyber attacking the Pentagon Joint Chiefs of ?Staff unclassified mail system. Thanks to the hack, this email system had to be shut down for two weeks. Officials say the intrusion happened around July 25 and around 4,000 Joint Chiefs of Staff employees were hit. Sources say the hacking started with an automated system that gathered overwhelming data in a matter of one minute. Then that overwhelming data was distributed, all at once, to thousands of machines and accounts throughout the Internet. Officials say Russian hackers pulled it off through encrypted social media. Authorities aren’t claiming the Russian government had anything to do with this cyber attack…at least not aloud. But some officials say, “It was clearly the work of a state actor.” Authorities also insists it was only unclassified email accounts that got hacked. No classified emails were in danger or compromised. The email system should be back to normal in the very near future. It may be already be.
It shouldn’t be surprising at all this was an international attack. China has been accused of hacking several US institutions over the years. And look at the tensions between the US and Russia over the past several years. ?Some foreign relation experts fear we’re slipping back into the Cold War. But what is a surprise is that it made national news. Often times this would only make tech news. I guess they don’t want to scare the masses. What Russian entity do you think is responsible? Or is there something ‘the authorities’ aren’t telling us?
