bjoernvold.com

The hacker Jonathan Zdziarsk has found a backdoor in 600 million iOS units. The backdoor is placed there by Apple and does completely avoid the Apple backup encryption for end user security.

In short there is no way for you to secure your data on your iPhone; Apple will always be able to access them and to hand them over to the NSA as part of the Prism program.


So while your iPhone is fairly safe against typical attackers - you are sharing everything with Apple and whoever they chose to give your data.
Apple has worked hard to ensure that Apple can access end-user devices on behalf of law enforcement.

The problem is clearly that the law enforcement differs from country to country - will Apple also comply when Iranian and Chinese governments demand data about Christians or Dalai Lama followers?

The main problem is that Apple is not open about this and deliver products with running undocumented services that makes the "fishing" possible.

Your device is almost always at risk of spilling all data, since
it’s almost always authenticated, even while locked.

It is definitely no good idea to sync your iPhone with your computer either:

The documents state that it is possible for the NSA
to tap most sensitive data held on these smart
phones, including contact lists, SMS traffic,
notes and location information about where a
user has been. In the internal documents, experts
boast about successful access to iPhone data in
instances where the NSA is able to infiltrate the
computer a person uses to sync their iPhone.
Mini-programs, so-called "scripts," then enable
additional access to at least 38 iPhone features.”

An iPhone is probably the last phone you should consider buying. Anything with iOS should be avoided if you value your privacy.

If you trust Apple and your Government and think it is OK that they can look at all your data and whereabouts, then iPhone can be an alternative.

- I don't trust them more than Pink Floyd or Roger Water does, so no iOS for me. Apple has actively been violating their customers trust by doing this - well except for that great big customer - the US Government.
A government that is referred to as the United Stasi of America these days

More here

But they are soooooo cute, hip, trendy like the Tesla and you cannot put price in coolness....

Yes it is the price to pay for being a successful dancing deodorant with white teeth. I think they are dragging IBM down in the gutter with this too.

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3388

If they want an App based future with a solid IBM backbone, then they need to prove that those Enterprise data are not compromised in any way.

So far it is proven that those data are compromised.
Mindless fashion orientated bimbos might ignore it, but Business leaders will detest it.

Good luck with selling that to your Enterprise customers IBM and Apple...

Okay, this is not good news, BUT, what real alternative is there honestly? I highly doubt Google is any better, and it may be this is what the US government required apple to do (as they do with many, Apple was one of the last to join the PRISM program which suggests there probably was a struggle with them as opposed to Microsoft who signed on almost 15 years ago ¨pick me pick me!¨)

I use an Android phone and I recently sold my Nexus 7 for an Ipad Air and regardless of this news I still don't regret my decision as for one i feel neither of them are entirely secure (hence anything sensitive will stay on my encrypted linux laptop) and for that fact that the Ipad simply is the best tablet out there for functionality sake. For a college student, no one is going to beat Apple's software/app support base (sure major names are on android, but anything of specialty purpose is usually iOS exclusive), Itunes U especially https://www.apple.com/education/ipad/itunes-u/ , and plain simple reliability. You don't have to break the bank for it either because honestly just two days of scanning ebay I was able to land a Ipad Air (used but basically mint condition) bundled with a normally retailing $100 bluetooth keyboard/case and retail-able $30 protective sleeve all for $380 plus free shipping.

I would love to see something like FirefoxOS or MeeGo or Sailfish or w/e its called to come onto stage, but unfortunately their futures seem as bright as that of WebOS.

Google is better because it is open source. Other than that they are hopeless spies too. In that sense Google is more open about it and doing it "in your face" Apple is doing it "behind your back".

Apple can take a snapshot with your camera whenever they or the NSA want. They can bypass the seemingly secure encryption whenever they or the NSA want.

And they have developed the system with this in mind and deliberately not told you about it - that is bad.

Google will be using your data to sell adds - you know it because they have told you.

The NSA and thus the US government are forcing or "motivating" US companies to build in backdoors they can control.
This is a disaster for American tech companies, including Apple.

And yet another argument for open source...

Heh... here's my awesome phone:

Made by Apple? No, made by "TV Phone".
Runs iOS? Nope, runs crappy Java.
Got a GPS? No way.
Carrier? A reseller of one of the Big Three in Canada
Monthly Plan? No, anonymous prepaid.

The touch screen is nowhere near as good as an actual Apple device but I don't text, this is just for phone calls in a pinch. CDN$60 to buy and about $6 a month in usage. Do I need to check my email every minute? Screw that.

Cheap Scottish goof.

S.

To be honest, do you really need to carry a phone all the time? The humans been walking around this planet for thousands of years and I can say about 25 years or so the cell phone came and all of us stopped living.

To my understanding cell phones has become the insurance of our lives. I bet most people that carry one is for the fear that some might happen and not be able to make a call. The other thing that we use them is for social media, just to be connected.

My phone is "vanilla" is a Galaxy S3 rooted and reflashed with Cyanogen MOD. Just email, Tex and internet, that is all.

I do not know outside the US but here you can call 911 from any cell phone without service subscription. So if you are on an emergency you can call for help and use let us say Skype to call anybody when WiFi is available.

Actually I live in the country and only turn my phone on about once a week when I go in to town. I kind of like the idea of having the ability to call someone if I have car trouble or am meeting someone and need to coordinate timing. I probably send fewer than five text messages per month and fewer than ten phone calls per month (all of which would be less than five minute calls).

R_Head wrote:about 25 years or so the cell phone came and all of us stopped living.

Ain't that the truth! For all the spectacular things the digital revolution was supposed to provide, dependence wasn't one of them.

R_Head wrote:My phone is "vanilla" is a Galaxy S3 rooted and reflashed with Cyanogen MOD. Just email, Tex and internet, that is all.

I don't even have a data plan, or email... and I am still alive. Not having 24/7 access to Facebook and Twitter hasn't made me any less of a person, in fact some might argue that it has made me more of one.

R_Head wrote:I do not know outside the US but here you can call 911 from any cell phone without service subscription. So if you are on an emergency you can call for help and use let us say Skype to call anybody when WiFi is available.

Actually here in Canada it is my understanding that both 911 and 112 will work on all non-serviced cell phones (though I have only tested that on Bell).

S.

Snorkasaurus wrote:Heh... here's my awesome phone:

Made by Apple? No, made by "TV Phone".
Runs iOS? Nope, runs crappy Java.
Got a GPS? No way.
Carrier? A reseller of one of the Big Three in Canada
Monthly Plan? No, anonymous prepaid.

The touch screen is nowhere near as good as an actual Apple device but I don't text, this is just for phone calls in a pinch. CDN$60 to buy and about $6 a month in usage. Do I need to check my email every minute? Screw that.

Cheap Scottish goof.

S.

If this was 2009-2010 again, I wonder how many comments you would get with that : ¨Hey, is ....is, is that an iiiphone??¨¨
I got that all the time with the Palm Pre at the time so i would only imagine

R Head wrote:To be honest, do you really need to carry a phone all the time? The humans been walking around this planet for thousands of years and I can say about 25 years or so the cell phone came and all of us stopped living.

To my understanding cell phones has become the insurance of our lives. I bet most people that carry one is for the fear that some might happen and not be able to make a call. The other thing that we use them is for social media, just to be connected.

My phone is "vanilla" is a Galaxy S3 rooted and reflashed with Cyanogen MOD. Just email, Tex and internet, that is all.

I do not know outside the US but here you can call 911 from any cell phone without service subscription. So if you are on an emergency you can call for help and use let us say Skype to call anybody when WiFi is available.

I don't think there's anything wrong with an always connected device, but moreso with certain people who use them. Some people definitely overuse or even abuse (with social media) the gadget making it an undesirable presence for everyone around them, but I think the digitally connected phone does wonders for many people. Today it can function as your pocket dictionary and translator, keep your rewards cards on hand so your not having to carry 5-10 with you everytime you go out, you can jot down quick notes and it syncs with your computer when you get home, lookup something before a meeting or whatenot, navigation, check movies times if lets say your at the coffee shop with friends but the movie theater is a bit away but don't want to have to go home just to check the times on the computer, etc etc. I wholly agree that its not a necessity and shouldn't be a necessity for non business users, but it is still a nice supplementary tool to have around. When it becomes a toy or an addiction is when a problem well becomes a problem.

I also find it interesting of how different cultures around the world reacted to the presence of the cell phone. While it seems like in the US and UK it has become glue to our hands and must always have the latest and greatest, it would seem as in continental Europe (such as France and Germany) there's a more cautious story to tell. People there look it as a tool (as it should) much more than a toy, and hence parents a little more hesitant to give their young ones a phone if they believe they aren't ready, the majority do not have the latest and greatest as they seem to hold on to phones until they actually stop working (and buy the one that makes the most sense for them). I remember in France actually how even those my age were appalled by the UK when they did a mini study tour there and discovered kids were getting new iphones from mommy and daddy at the age of 7 and 8, and already have a tween brat attitude with it

On the other hand, when I was in China (though only for 2 weeks, probably not enough to make a judgement), the more better-to-do class seem to be over their heads with the status that their toys (they believe) give them. Own an iphone or an ipad your god, though it better damn be the latest edition (better yet get the gold ipad show off your royal prowess). Wasn't much different from cars clothing and other such brands they got themselves dangerously attached too. Americanization of other countries don't always have a beautiful story to tell

Panther96 wrote:If this was 2009-2010 again, I wonder how many comments you would get with that : ¨Hey, is ....is, is that an iiiphone??¨¨
I got that all the time with the Palm Pre at the time so i would only imagine

My last employer was a small company that makes VoIP software and most of the dozen or more people there were "gadget lovers". They [almost] all had iPhones and were mostly surprised at how light mine was. :-)

Panther96 wrote:I don't think there's anything wrong with an always connected device, but moreso with certain people who use them.

I totally agree with this... the devices can be pretty useful, the problem is when they start to significantly modify the behaviour of the individuals using them.

Panther96 wrote:I also find it interesting of how different cultures around the world reacted to the presence of the cell phone.

I have heard that there are some places (Japan for example) where devices are extended to be your credit card, your health card, your insurance card, your work ID card, etc etc. Now I have little interest in going to a place like Japan, but I wonder how the security of a device changes when it becomes so deeply embedded in one's life. What would happen if something like that were to be lost or stolen? Opens up a whole new world of identity theft doesn't it?

Panther96 wrote:While it seems like in the US and UK it has become glue to our hands and must always have the latest and greatest, it would seem as in continental Europe (such as France and Germany) there's a more cautious story to tell.

I actually have started collecting old school phones, especially those with no GPS in them... fancy features are lost on me. :-)

S.

Well it is called a phone so that is what it should do. phone people or let others phone you. In addition to that it is a fair claim that nobody listens in on your conversations or keep record of who you call.
Here is mine:


It even has a camera

The camera bit is not necessary and it calls and receives calls perfectly fine. I have been offered smartphones for free from spy horny ISP's and telecom providers - and I keep saying NO

They have wasted lots of my time explaining fantastic features that I will be missing - and none of them were phone related.

I have the latest Android in a VB here so I have a fairly good idea how it works - but those boneheads can simply not understand that I DO NOT WANT A SMARTPHONE

They even are stupid enough to ask why: So I will now list the reasons here and simply ask them to look here.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/wor ... 21161.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... sonal-data
http://www.cnet.com/news/how-to-spy-on- ... phone-way/
http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2014/05 ... py-on-you/
http://www.mobile-spy.com/

+ 10 pages of the same.
Yes they can spy on me too, with that phone but not nearly as efficiently as with a smartphone,

What I will do if this one breaks? Hah! I have another brand new one

With my phone I can jot down stuff too, check for movie times and so on and on...

What I do not have, want, desire and/or need are those pesky tracking behavior carrots like coupon and such. All my meaningful data is off my phone. Also, I have 1 card that I use to pay and on my wallet, not the phone.

To me all those added so called conveniences are behavior tracking features.

I need to meet my friends, I just text them and is as simple as that.
Any cell phone of any price now days can do that.

BTW I do not own music not have the desire. What comes from the radio is just fine.
So why subscribing to iTunes when Amazon can do the same and perhaps better.
Do not care about their sync feature because I have nothing to sync.
For my line of work as Mfg Engineers none of the Apple toys does nothing for me.
Is a fact the only phone authorized in the secure network is Blackberry as of today.

Do not take this as rant but just showing a bit of my life stile.