encryption

Software
June 27, 2012
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Web privacy guru designing anti-spying iPhone app

By on June 27, 2012 at 9:30 AM.

Web privacy guru designing anti-spying iPhone app

iPhone Privacy App

It seems there’s a new app for iPhone users who feel like they’re being watched. Per Technology Review, the new Silent Circle iOS app encrypts every call, text or email sent from users’ iPhones and thus prevents them from being intercepted by third parties. The app is the brainchild of Phil Zimmermann, the Internet privacy pioneer who developed the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) email encryption protocol all the way back in 1991. The app is still in its development stages and is being tested out for both iPhone and iPad, and Zimmermann hopes to have it ready to sell by the end of the year as a $20 monthly subscription service, Technology Review reports.  More →

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mobile
July 18, 2011
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U.S. Army testing smartphones and tablets for combat

By on July 18, 2011 at 5:20 PM.

U.S. Army testing smartphones and tablets for combat

The U.S. Army has started a pilot program on June 6th to test the effectiveness of equipping troops with tablets and phones in combat, CNN recently reported. The idea is to provide troops with the ability to send text messages and geotagged images that alert others about their current surroundings. Similarly, the infantry could use the devices to file regular reports and easily view maps, CNN said. So far, the troops have been testing the iPhone and phones powered by Windows Phone and Android, and soldiers have particularly liked the iPhone and Android-powered devices. In addition to smartphones, the Army is also testing the iPad and tablets from Dell and HP. The results of the tests have been so positive that the Army could begin deploying a small amount of troops equipped with smartphones later this year. “Today, we don’t have the level of encryption that we would need to take [a smartphone] overseas and fully integrate it into our mission-command systems,” said Ed Mazzanti, an Army director working on the program. “There could be some limited deployments even this year, tied to tactical radios that supply the encryption that’s needed.” More →

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mobile
May 12, 2011
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Apple sued again for collecting location data

By on May 12, 2011 at 1:33 PM.

Apple sued again for collecting location data

A lawsuit has been filed against Apple, Pandora, and The Weather Channel in the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico that alleges Apple “intentionally [intercepts] personally identifying information.” The plaintiff, Lymaris M. Rivera Diaz, is charging Apple with unfair trade practices, abuse and fraud, and he believes that Apple shares the iPhone’s unique ID, as well as personal location information, with third party developers such as The Weather Channel and Pandora. Apple’s vice president of software technology, Bud Tribble, testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law on Tuesday, and said “Apple does not track users’ locations,” and that the Cupertino-based company has no plans to do so. This is the second lawsuit filed against Apple in regards to the location tracking scandal; The first was filed in Tampa, Florida late last month. More →

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mobile
May 11, 2011
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Apple and Google grilled by Senate on collecting location data

By on May 11, 2011 at 9:45 AM.

Apple and Google grilled by Senate on collecting location data

Google and Apple testified before the Senate on Tuesday, where both firms were grilled on collecting location information from mobile phones. During the hearing, Senator Al Franken was particularly vocal on the issue. “My wireless companies, Apple and Google, and my apps, all get my location or something very close to it,” Senator Franken said. “We need to address this issue now, as mobile devices are only going to get more popular.” We covered Apple’s response on Tuesday, during which Apple’s vice president of software technology, Bud Tribble, said that “Apple does not track users’ locations,” and that the firm never plans to do so. However, Franken was also concerned that Apple and Google have done little to police third-party applications that are collecting and transmitting location data, and suggested that both companies require developers to alert users of their specific privacy policies. Trimble said Apple already does this, but it has never tossed an application for violating that rule. Google’s director of public policy, Alan Davidson, said Google would consider adding the option. According to The Wall Street Journal, Jessica Rich, the deputy director of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer-protection bureau said that, despite both firms saying they don’t collect user data, “there’s a lot [the FTC] can do… to challenge,” those claims. More →

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mobile
May 10, 2011
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Apple exec to Senate: ‘Apple does not track users’ locations’

By on May 10, 2011 at 6:35 PM.

Apple exec to Senate: ‘Apple does not track users’ locations’

While testifying before the U.S. Congress today, Apple’s vice president of software technology, Bud Tribble, tried to clarify concerns that Apple had been tracking owners of its iPhone and iPad Wi-Fi + 3G. Apple has said in the past that it does not track its users and it also recently issued iOS 4.3.3, which reduces and encrypts the crowd-sourced location database cache, but Tribble explained the story in a bit more detail:

We do not share customer information with third parties without our customers’ explicit consent. Apple does not track users’ locations. Apple has never done so and has no plans to do so. An Apple device does not send to Apply any specific information associated with a user. The purpose of the cache is to allow the device to more quickly and reliably respond to location requests. Apple was never tracking an individual user’s location. The data seen on the iPhone was not the location past or present of the iPhone, but the location of cell towers surrounding the phone. Although the cache was not encrypted, it was protected from other apps on the phone.

According to 9to5 Mac, Tribble also explained to the U.S. Congress that, as we know, the iPhone and 3G iPad are able to determine a user’s location using triangulation between nearby Wi-Fi hotspots or cell phone towers. More →

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Breaking
April 27, 2011
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Apple issues statement on location tracking; software update on the way

By on April 27, 2011 at 8:52 AM.

Apple issues statement on location tracking; software update on the way

Apple has finally broken its week-long silence over the location-tracking database scandal surrounding iPhones and 3G iPads running iOS 4 and higher. The company states that it never has, and never plans to, track users’ iDevices, and that the purpose of the database file in question — consolidated.db — is to “help your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested.” The company noted that a software update will limit the size of the location file and be available in the next few weeks — the next major iOS release will add a layer of encryption to the file. Apple’s full statement is after the break. Have a look and let us know what you think. More →

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Software
April 11, 2011
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Apple's AirPlay private key discovered, revealed

By on April 11, 2011 at 8:09 AM.

Apple's AirPlay private key discovered, revealed

It looks as though software developer James Laird has opened Pandora’s box for Apple’s AirPlay music streaming system. Frustrated by the fact that an AirPort Express emulator did not exist, Laird began to look for a solution that would allow him to stream iTunes music without the use of AirPlay. “I was disappointed to find that Apple used a public-key crypto scheme, and there’s a private key hiding inside the ApEx [Airport Extreme],” wrote Laird. “So I took it apart (I still have scars from opening the glued case!), dumped the ROM, and reverse engineered the keys out of it.” Laird has published the private key in an open source software project dubbed ShairPort (clever). The software, which is built in Perl and C, will allow users to stream iTunes content to hardware and software designed to talk to ShairPort. Apple has opened up its AirPlay system to third-parties in recent months, but this blows the doors wide open for all those looking to circumvent that red tape-filled process. More →

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Security
March 17, 2011
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Twitter beefs up security with forced HTTPS

By on March 17, 2011 at 3:29 AM.

Twitter beefs up security with forced HTTPS

In a recent blog post, Twitter announced a new measure aimed at keeping its users data a bit more secure as it travels over the wire. Via the “Settings” preference pane, users can now force Twitter communications to always travel over a secure, HTTPS connection. “This will improve the security of your account and better protect your information if you’re using Twitter over an unsecured Internet connection,” writes Twitter. “In the future, we hope to make HTTPS the default setting.” Enabling the feature also secures traffic traveling to and from the official Twitter applications for both the iPhone and iPad — it will not, however, automatically enable HTTPS on the mobile Twitter website. Unless you have a specific reason not to enable the feature, we highly recommend it. More →

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Security
October 7, 2010
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AT&T announces first carrier-provided, two-factor voice encryption service

By on October 7, 2010 at 12:35 PM.

AT&T announces first carrier-provided, two-factor voice encryption service

Today, AT&T announced AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice; “the first carrier-provided two factor encryption service for calls on the AT&T network.” The service, which will be available for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices, combines KoolSpan’s TrustChip and SRA International’s One Vault Voice. As the press release explains:

TrustChip is a fully hardened, self-contained crypto engine inserted into the smartphone’s microSD slot. Embedded with AT&T TrustGroup, the KoolSpan TrustChip offers the strength of additional hardware authentication, enables encrypted calling interoperability with a defined group of other AT&T TrustGroup users and can be managed over-the-air. [...] SRA’s One Vault Voice integrates the security functions of the TrustChip with a feature rich application that provides an intuitive user interface. This powerful combination allows users to easily place and receive encrypted calls by integrating with the mobile phone’s standard operation and address book to provide a user friendly and seamless security option.

Probably not something you are going to be using, but pretty cool nonetheless. Hit the read link for the full press release. More →

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Security
August 6, 2010
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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shuts down BlackBerry messaging service

By on August 6, 2010 at 8:01 AM.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shuts down BlackBerry messaging service

In accordance with government wishes, Saudi Arabia’s three mobile wireless companies have shut down BlackBerry messaging services to their users. The Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission cited security concerns when it announced on August 3rd that: “the manufacturer of the devices [RIM] couldn’t meet the regulatory requirements of the commission and it is not in accordance with the regulations and conditions of licenses issued to service providers, at its present state.”  The AFP reports that any wireless company that does not turn off the encrypted messaging service could face up to a $1.3 million fine. The BlackBerry devices are still able to make and receive phone calls. Services are due to be suspended in the United Arab Emirates beginning on October 11th.  More →

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mobile
August 2, 2010
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RIM: your BlackBerry data is secure, even from governments

By on August 2, 2010 at 5:30 PM.

RIM: your BlackBerry data is secure, even from governments

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has issued a statement to its customers letting them know just how secure their data is. The handset maker reminded everyone that “no one, including RIM” could access BlackBerry user data as it is encrypted without a master key, and that it would “be unable to accommodate any request” for access to the data. RIM continued, the system is designed “to exclude the capability for RIM or any third party to read encrypted information under any circumstances.” The statement comes on the heels of this weekend’s decision by the United Arab Emirates to suspend BlackBerry data services in the country due to reasons related to national security. RIM has not released an official statement regarding talks with the UAE citing the confidentiality of discussions at the government level. More →

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General
July 21, 2010
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Verizon Wireless DROID X plagued by Wi-Fi connectivity issues?

By on July 21, 2010 at 5:15 PM.

Verizon Wireless DROID X plagued by Wi-Fi connectivity issues?

Motorola-DROID-X-2

Chatter on the forums suggests that the latest update hitting the DROID X has not fixed the WiFi connectivity problem many users were reporting. Affected DROID X owners report that their handsets have difficulty connecting to a WiFi router and poor network performance once a connection has been established. Several users report that changing the encryption from AES to TKIP has alleviated the problem, while others note that changing your router to 802.11g instead of 802.11n has decreased the number of network disconnects. Anyone with a DROID X currently experiencing this problem?

Thanks, Goreja! More →

245 Comments
Security
May 27, 2010
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iPhone security lapse allows for data read access

By on May 27, 2010 at 3:13 PM.

iPhone security lapse allows for data read access

iphone-security-lapse

A major security flaw has been uncovered in the Apple iPhone 3GS this week after two security experts discovered it was possible to bypass the device’s security and gain nearly full read access using Ubuntu Lucid Lynx. Perhaps even more frightening is the fact that the two believe they’re nearing the ability to write data as well. Said Bernd Marienfeldt, one of the two gentleman responsible for uncovering the flaw:

I uncovered a data protection vulnerability, which I could reproduce on 3 other non jail broken 3GS iPhones (MC 131B, MC132B) with different iPhone OS versions installed (3.1.3-7E18 modem firmware 05.12.01 and version 3.1.2 -7D11, modem 05.11.07), all PIN code protected which means the vulnerability bypasses authentication for various data where people most likely rely on data protection through encryption and do not expect that authentication is not in place. [...] This data protection flaw exposes music, photos, videos, podcasts, voice recordings, Google safe browsing database, game contents… by [sic] in my opinion the quickest compromising read/write access discovered so far, without leaving any track record by the attacker. It’s about to imagine how many enterprises (e.g. Fortune 100) actually do rely on the expectation that their iPhone 3GS’s whole content is protected by encryption with an PIN code based authentication in place to unlock it.

Marienfeldt and his partner Jim Herbeck notified Apple of the flaw, and according to then, “Apple could reproduce the described serious issue and believes to understand why this can happen but cannot provide timing or further details on the release of a fix.” Let’s hope the new data protection feature in iPhone OS 4.0 does the trick.

[Via Engadget] More →

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