CybersecuritySmartphones are now audio bugs of choice
In an increasing trend, cell phones have become the tool of choice for eavesdroppers; with new smartphones, spies can easily plant a tracking device that can follow a user’s every move including their location, calls, text messages, emails, and even video; with the proliferation of smartphones, thousands of sites are now selling spy software; for as little as $25, someone can tap into all the features of Blackberries, iPhones, and Google Android phones; the software takes minutes to install and can be disguised as an email link; it can take days of searching through thousands of lines of code to discover the spy software
A wide range of spy software is available // Source: ultimatephonespy.com
In an increasing trend, cell phones have become the tool of choice for eavesdroppers. With new smartphones, spies can easily plant a sophisticated tracking device that can follow a user’s every move including their location, calls, text messages, emails, and even video. Tim Wilcox, president of International Investigators Inc., says that he hardly has to sweep rooms for audio bugs or cameras anymore because eavesdroppers have increasingly turned to cell phones.
Wilcox said, “It’s so easy to bug a cell phone any more that it’s kind of a waste of time to bug an office using traditional technology.”
Spyware for phones began appearing several years ago, but in the last year it has become a full-fledged industry. With the proliferation of smartphones, thousands of sites are now selling sophisticated software to tap into all the features of Blackberries, iPhones, and Google Android phones.
“If you’ve got $50 and a credit card you can get some of the best software there is out there,” said Daniel Smith, a mobile forensics investigator for International Investigators Inc.
Installing these features without a user’s consent is illegal in most states, but this has not stopped companies from offering the spyware.
According to Smith, the software plants a tiny line of code on the phone that can track all of its activity and “once it’s on the phone, it’s controlled via the internet anywhere in the world.”
Fox59 News of Indiana tested the software and found that it was capable of monitoring nearly every move a user made.
When a call was made or received from the phone under surveillance, the program would send a text message to a designated cell phone. If eavesdroppers wanted to listen in on an ongoing conversation they simply had to call the phone and they would automatically be connected to the line.
The software also offered a suite of online features that would allow someone to review the phone’s text messages, emails, and even track its location via its GPS feature.
Smartphones can also be turned into audio devices when not in use. The software allows a spy to call the phone and it will transmit all the sound that the speakerphone picks up.
Installing the software is relatively easy and only takes a few minutes. While it must be installed directly to the phone by downloading it online, users can be easily tricked into installing the software themselves by opening an email link on their phone.
With more sophisticated phones, the software can be installed by simply snapping a picture of a bar code.
The more features the phone has, the more opportunities the software has to track a user. Phones equipped with photo and video cameras, will email a copy of a photo or video as soon as it is taken.
The technology is also capable of tracking all the websites a user visits and their mobile chats.
Smith says that it can take days of searching through thousands of lines of code to discover the spy software.
