Inventor of Antivirus Sofware: The Government Is Planting Malicious Software On Your Phone So It Can See What You're Doing

Top computer and internet experts say that NSA spying breaks the functionality of our computers and of the Internet. It reduces functionality and reduces security by – for example – creating backdoors that malicious hackers can get through.
Remember, American and British spy agencies have intentionally weakened security for many decades. And it’s getting worse and worse. For example, they plan to use automated programs to infect millions of computers.

Smart Phones Vulnerable to Spying

We documented in 2013 that smart phones are very vulnerable to spying:

The government is spying on you through your phone … and may even remotely turn on your camera and microphone when your phone is off.

As one example, the NSA has inserted its code into Android’s operating system … bugging three-quarters of the world’s smartphones. Google – or the NSA – can remotely turn on your phone’s camera and recorder at any time.

Moreover, Google knows just about every WiFi password in the world … and so the NSA does as well, since it spies so widely on Google.

But it’s not just the Android. In reality, the NSA can spy on just about everyone’s smart phone.

Cell towers track where your phone is at any moment, and the major cell carriers, including Verizon and AT&T, responded to at least 1.3 million law enforcement requests for cell phone locations and other data in 2011. (And – given that your smartphone routinely sends your location information back to Apple or Google – it would be child’s play for the government to track your location that way.) Your iPhone, or other brand of smartphone is spying on virtually everything you do (ProPublica notes: “That’s No Phone. That’s My Tracker“). Remember, that might be happening even when your phone is turned off.

The NSA has gathered all of that cellphone location information.

“Encryption Doesn’t Matter In a World Where Anyone Can Plant Software On Your Phone and See What You’re Seeing”

John McAfee invented commercial antivirus software. He may be a controversial and eccentric figure … but the man knows his technology.
Earlier this month, McAfee told security expert Paul Asadoorian that encryption is dead.  Specifically, he said:

• Every city in the country has 1 to 3 Stingray spy devices … Bigger cities like New York probably have 200 or 300

• When you buy a Stingray, Harris Corporation makes you sign a contract keeping your Stingray secret (background here and here)

• Stingray pushes automatic “updates” – really malicious software – onto your phone as soon as you come into range

• The software – written by the largest software company in the world – allows people to turn on your phone, microphone and camera, and read everything you do and see everything on your screen

• Encryption doesn’t matter in a world where anyone can plant software on your phone and see what you’re seeing.  Protecting transmission of information from one device to the other doesn’t matter anymore … they can see what you see on your device

• There are many intrusions other than Stingray.   For example, everyone has a mobile phone or mobile device which has at least 10 apps which have permission to access camera and microphone

• Bank of America’s online banking app requires you to accept microphones and cameras. McAfee called Bank of America and asked why they require microphones and cameras. They replied that – if you emptied all of the money in your account and said “it wasn’t me”, they could check, and then say:

Well, it certainly looks like you. And it certainly sounds like you.

• In order to do that, B of A’s app keeps your microphone and camera on for a half hour after you’ve finished your banking

• In addition, people can call you – and have you call them back – and plant software on your phone when you call them back

 

Spy Agencies Are Intentionally Destroying Digital Security

 http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-14/inventor-antivirus-sofware-government-planting-malicious-software-your-phone-so-it-c

 

This is why you SHOULD NOT do banking of any kind from ANY KIND of SMART PHONE

About 16 million mobile devices are infected by malicious software that is secretly spying on users, stealing confidential information and pilfering data plans.

That’s the word from Alcatel-Lucent’s Motive Security Labs, which in a study found that malware infections in mobile devices rose a full 25% in 2014, compared to a 20% increase in 2013. In fact, the uptick is so spectacular that Android devices have now caught up with Windows laptops, which had been the primary workhorse of cybercrime, with infection rates between Android and Windows devices split an even 50/50 in 2014.

“With one billion Android devices shipped in 2014, the platform is a favorite target of cybercriminals who can have lots of infection success without a lot of work,” said Kevin McNamee, director of Motive, in a blog. “Android is more exposed than rivals because of its open platform and by allowing users to download apps from third-party stores where apps are not always well-vetted.”

The mobile infection rate in 2014 was 0.68%. Fewer than 1% of infections come from iPhone and Blackberry smartphones.

Malware growth continues to be aided by the fact that a vast majority of mobile device owners do not take proper device security precautions. But here, service providers can be the hero. The survey found that 65% of subscribers instead expect their service provider to protect both their mobile and home devices. Fifty-five percent indicated they would be willing to pay for such a service. And of course, service providers have a vested interest in ensuring malware doesn’t invade their network or sour the subscriber service experience.

“With malware attacks on devices steadily rising with consumer ultra-broadband usage, the impact on customer experience becomes a primary concern for service providers,” said Patrick Tan, GM of network intelligence at Alcatel-Lucent, in a statement. “As a result, we’re seeing more operators take a proactive approach to this problem, by providing services that alert subscribers to malware on their devices along with self-help instructions for removing it.”

Motive also said that mobile malware is increasing in sophistication with more robust command and control protocols. For instance, mobile spyware is on the rise. It tracks the phone’s location, monitors ingoing and outgoing calls, text messages and email, and tracks web browsing. Additionally, the first distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks launched from mobile phones took place last year, suggesting how so-called ‘hactivism’ movements against the mobile infrastructure might be launched in the future.

“The rise of mobile malware threats isn’t unexpected. But as Google Wallet, Apple Pay and others rush to bring us mobile payment systems, security has to be a top focus,” McNamee noted. “And malware concerns become even more acute in the workplace, where more than 90% of workers admit to using their personal smartphones for work purposes.”

When it comes to residential networks, Motive’s malware report also concluded that infection rates also rose significantly in 2014, with malware found in 13.6% of residences. That’s an increase of 5% over the previous year.

The report found that the rise is mostly attributable to an increase in infections by moderate threat level adware. High-level threats such as bots, rootkits, and banking trojans remain steady at around 5%.

The Motive report also noted that 2014 saw an increase in DDoS attacks using network infrastructure components such as home routers, DSL modems, cable modems, mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, DNS servers and NTP servers. And, it looked at the digital commerce channel and found that consumers who avoid shopping online out of fear that their credit or debit card information may be stolen are actually exposing themselves to greater risk.

Motive pointed out that the rash of retail cybersecurity breaches in 2014 were all the result of malware infections on cash registers or point-of-sale terminals, not online stores, largely because stolen cards from online retailers are not as valuable to criminals because they can only be used for online purchases.

Mobility however is the next big threat bubble to keep an eye on.

“By the end of 2015, the number of smartphone users worldwide will surpass 2 billion, representing more than a quarter of the global population,” McNamee said. “There’s no reason to believe malware threats won’t be even more intrusive this year and the foreseeable future.”

http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/sophisticated-mobile-malware-16mn/