Sheran Gunasekera, who is the known developer of this application, wrote on his blog that he wanted to shed light on the threats posed by careless use of Blackberry smartphones. Gunasekera said "the application can be easily detected and is visible in the Blackberry user interface." According to US CERT, "This software allows an attacker to call a user's BlackBerry and listen to personal conversations." In order to install and setup the PhoneSnoop application, attackers must have physical access to the user's device or convince a user to install PhoneSnoop."
Doesn't seem to be a major threat unless you are careless enough to download it or allow someone else to. I thought this was crazy when i first heard it. That would be horrible if people could just listen to what you were saying. If someone has this program all they have to do is simply delete it. The problem seems to be that a lot of people aren't aware of this application. Awareness seems to be the key to not having this as a problem.
Source: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid14_gci1372852,00.html
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I was once a Blackberry lover. So I am knowledgeable about the downloadable applications available on the phone. I know for a fact that regular applications must be downloaded on the phone before usage. The developer of this application asserted that there is no way the application could be "accidentally" applied to someone's phone without their knowledge. Therefore, if the Blackberry users vallue their privacy, they should take extra precautions not to download applications that could ultimately invade their privacy. Gunasekera claimed that in the event that the application was accidentally downloaded by the user, the icon on the screen of the phone could be easily detected. Because so much of our technology is now available at our fingertips, it is important to be aware of these cunning hackers. More importantly, because so much of society's sensitive information is contained in their palm pilots, or in this case, their Blackberry's, then it is important to safeguard ourselves in order to protect our personal information. Although we cannot avoid all data breaches, we should try to avoid situations that in which we have control. These Blackberry hackers are avoidable. Period.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite interesting how someone would create this software to just shed light on the problem. The intentions are good, but why would anyone really think of such an idea? Another important issue with this is what means people are using to obtain valuable information. If it is not in the form of infiltrating the internet, it is now going to phones. It shows that most hackers are willing to do anything to steal valuable information and take things from others. Again, it seems so easy as to steal a person's information through a device for everyday use.
ReplyDeleteHas any software similar to this come out for the iphone? I would be interested to know.
ReplyDeleteAs cocoman said, the key to this problem is awareness, or a lack thereof. Although this seems like a simple solution to an attack like this, the truth is that very few people are aware of all of the applications and programs that are on their mobile device, whether it be a smartphone, netbook or laptop. So many time people find themselves downloading various programs to serve various purposes, from the imperative to menial. Especially with the modern speed of the internet, the opportunity cost or time spent downloading is essentially not a factor anymore. Therefore, the key to preventing attacks like these is simply to be aware of all programs that you download.
ReplyDelete