From: Aaron (microchp@microchp.org)
Date: Mon Jul 31 2006 - 01:00:49 EDT
On Sun, 30 Jul 2006 11:52:39 +0200
Volker Tanger <vtlists@wyae.de> wrote:
> Greetings!
>
>
> Or as "on demand" audio espionage device: most
>cellphones with
> attached headset can be switched to auto-answer. In this
>case you
> usually cannot switch the cellphone to silent mode - to
>prevent exactly
> this attack vector.
>
> But you can switch off vibration alert - and when
>loading the cellphone
> with custom ring tones usually noone will notice. Such
>ringtones could
> be ultrasonic WAV/MP3s
>(http://www.ultrasonic-ringtones.com/) or
> similarily MIDI file with a single ultra-quiet
>(velocity=1),
> extremely high or low and ultra-short tone.
>
> The only problem for a few cellphone models is to find a
>combined
> headset+charger plug if it only has one connector (like
>the Siemens
> models) if you want to install a "permanent" listening
>device. But then
> the excuse "I thought it was stolen - it must have
>slipped out" does not
> hold anymore. ;-)
>
> Bye
>
> Volker
>
>
> --
>
> Volker Tanger http://www.wyae.de/volker.tanger/
> --------------------------------------------------
> vtlists@wyae.de PGP Fingerprint
> 378A 7DA7 4F20 C2F3 5BCC 8340 7424 6122 BB83 B8CB
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To add to that; most cell phones have firmware
replacements or what some would call hacks or mods that
are easy to customize and install. This of course will
void your warrentee and make you a terrah-ist, but... you
can go beyond using ring tones that are quiet.
Instead, mod the phone so that none of the buttons do
anything, the power button only turns the phone on, but
not off and the lcd display no longer backlights or has
anything visible on the display. Hard code it to
auto-answer instantly.
Even if someone finds the phone, they will think it is
dead/broken. The only way they will know it is working;
or for that matter transmitting, would either be to have a
poorly shielded amplifier (pc speakers) near it, or have
an RF detector. Have a "Reward if returned" sticker under
the battery so that your victims hand your phone back to
you in exchange for twenty bucks or so.
Oh, and disable the "battery alert" as well so it doesnt
beep once the battery starts to die. You can also set the
earpiece volume and ringer volume to never go above 0.
Set a key combination that returns the lcd display and
keys to normal operation. You can find examples of that
in most existing firmware code, such as those used to
display details regarding signal strenth, cell site
identifiers, network codes and more.
This is of course all theory. I have no memory of sending
this email. In fact, I didn't.
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