When Edward Snowden gets a new phone, to protect his privacy this is what he does
In a new blog, Edward Snowden has explained the wrongs associated with the smartphone ecosystem that enable remote monitoring and illegal spying of smartphone users. Here is a look at one of his own practices meant to stop his phone from being a channel for spying.
In Short
- Edward Snowden calls out the industry-wide practices in the smartphone ecosystem that enable illegal spying on an individual.
- Snowden highlights how these practices can easily be used even for end-user manipulation.
- Snowden shares a particular activity that he follows every time he uses a new smartphone.
The right to privacy and the various digital ways in which it can be hampered have been brought to the forefront yet again with the revelation of the Pegasus spyware. The fiasco has been an eye-opener for many, for how a device as friendly as one’s smartphone can be used to keep an eye on them throughout the day.
Pegasus is a sophisticated piece of spyware and can only be used by major entities having access to it, like a country’s government. However, its use is a glaring indicator of just how vulnerable a smartphone ecosystem is. Edward Snowden, known to many as the biggest whistleblower in history, now highlights this fragile infrastructure in a new blog.
Snowden sheds light on the dangers to one’s privacy possessed by the use of such software or smartphones in general. In his blog, Snowden shares insights into the dark side of the smartphone ecosystem, calling it the “insecurity industry” that thrives on perpetual insecurity.
He points out how the seemingly friendly technology that we spend most of our time connected to spells certain doom for the end-user. The level of threat is unfathomable as the entire system is open to infection “by anyone willing to put money in the hand of this new Insecurity Industry.”
Snowden alleges that the entirety of the business around smartphones and their software involves finding new kinds of infections that can bypass the security checks in place. These vulnerabilities are then actively sold to those looking to exploit them. Pegasus spyware has been a shining example of that.
But giving up on your smartphone and all your activities associated with it is simply not a solution for everyone. So what does an end-user do in times like these?
Snowden’s phone hack
A cue can be taken from a practice followed by Snowden himself. After all, the man needs a phone to stay connected too. Snowden, however, being more vigilant against such spying techniques, has a routine that he follows with every new smartphone he uses.
As mentioned by him in his blog, the first thing that Snowden does with a new phone is take it apart. The disassembly of the phone is not to satisfy a baseless urge but, in fact, is a tact used to protect his privacy.
From the disassembled phone, Snowden removes “two or three tiny microphones hidden inside.” Though that is all that Snowden explains about the procedure in the blog, we can assume that the microphones’ removal is meant to prevent unwarranted spying on him through his smartphone.
Snowden says that this is just one of the many steps that he follows every time he uses a new smartphone. As can be judged, the entire activity is meant to remove any chances of spying on Snowden’s smartphone.
Despite the efforts, he notes his smartphone as “the most dangerous item” he possesses. Other than the countless ways in which it can be used for spying, Snowden claims that such devices are used for an “outright end-user manipulation,” supposedly with the targeted content that we see.
On a larger scale, Snowden calls out for several mandates that can keep incidents of remote and illegal monitoring through smartphones at bay. Some ways that he mentions include choosing a safer programming language, creating legal liabilities with the associated companies and a complete and universal ban on hacking.