CarrierIQ: Your SmartPhone Is Spying On You

I've been tweeting about his for days, but it is now big enough that this issue requires a blog post. Independent security researchers (and hackers) have discovered a rootkit installed to most smart phones sold by the major American cellular carriers. Called CarrierIQ, this rootkit monitors and captures nearly everything you do on your smart phone including your location, every phone number you call, every web request you make, every key you type, and every App that you run. It has been found on Android phones, WebOS phones, BlackBerry phones, and other Nokia phones. It is unclear what information is actually being sent to each carrier, but there is the capability here for your carrier to literally know everything you do with your smartphone, whether you're on their network or on Wifi.

(Apple iPhones appear to have less-extreme version that tightly controls what is gathered and can be turned off in the Settings app. It is important to note that Google's stock Android phones (Google Nexus line, etc.) are clean of this rootkit. It is being added by manufacturers and carriers.)

This scandal is still blowing up, and it is unclear what the final fallout will be. But it appears your wireless carrier - in the name of improving service - may have been spying on nearly every aspect of your online life.

NOTE: To turn off CarrierIQ on your iPhone, go to Settings, General > About > Diagnostics & Usage, click "Don't Send". If you want to see what is being sent, check out "Diagnostic & Usage Data" instead. (At this point, I am leaving mine set to "Automatically Send."

Google confirms capture of Wifi Data in CT

The Google Wifi scandal - where Street View cars captured data from unsecured wireless networks as it mapped locations - is now officially not just a European issue. CT attorney general - and senatorial candidate - Richard Blumenthal has announced that they have admitted collecting the same kinds of data in Connecticut.

Google told Blumenthal’s office it “believes” it started collecting WiFi data in Connecticut in 2008.
“Google’s acknowledgement that it vacuumed up data from unencrypted wireless computer networks in Connecticut is disturbing and demands additional inquiry,” Blumenthal said. “Google grabbed information -- which could include emails, passwords and web-browsing -- that consumers rightly expect to be private. Google needs to better explain how this practice happened, exactly when, where and why.
“We will consider the legality of Google’s WiFi collection practices. Google’s actions raise troubling and profound questions about privacy and whether laws need to be clarified or changed,” Blumenthal said.

This is also a good reminder to secure your network as even a very simple password in WEP or WPA security would have foiled the attempt to snoop. If you're not sure how to set up security on your router, please contact the manufacturer.

The other side of the AIG bonuses debacle

While many of us lean right here at Mod-Blog, we try to tell both sides of the story whenever possible. So, it was with great interest that I saw the NYTimes had posted a resignation letter from an AIG executive who was in the middle of the bonuses scandal. It gives an eloquent defense of the bonuses and is worth a read.

The profitability of the businesses with which I was associated clearly supported my compensation. I never received any pay resulting from the credit default swaps that are now losing so much money. I did, however, like many others here, lose a significant portion of my life savings in the form of deferred compensation invested in the capital of A.I.G.-F.P. because of those losses. In this way I have personally suffered from this controversial activity — directly as well as indirectly with the rest of the taxpayers...As most of us have done nothing wrong, guilt is not a motivation to surrender our earnings. We have worked 12 long months under these contracts and now deserve to be paid as promised. None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house.

Many of the employees have, in the past six months, turned down job offers from more stable employers, based on A.I.G.’s assurances that the contracts would be honored. They are now angry about having been misled by A.I.G.’s promises and are not inclined to return the money as a favor to you.

Spitzer hands Hillary a way out?

Elliot Spitzer, New York State Governor, appears to have been implicated in a scandal among politicians who frequented Washington D.C. prostitutes. He has NOT said he will resign, but the pressure to do so will be huge.

Spitzer2
by krs601

What does this mean for the rest of us? Maybe an end to the Democratic stalemate. If Hillary Clinton were to drop out of the presidential race in order to become the heir apparent to governor of New York, it would be seen as a move "for the good of my constituents". And it would give her executive experience to make a 2012 or 2016 run for president much more credible, even after an Obama presidency.

Of course, the Lieutenant Governor of New York state probably has other plans for the top office.