The Secret Computer Inside Your Phone That Never Turns Off
23 days ago by honesthenery to c/privacy
Inside every modern smartphone there is a secret second computer — the baseband processor (cellular modem) — that runs its own independent operating system, has its own RAM and storage, and never fully turns off. It keeps registering with cell towers, accepts silent carrier updates, and can be exploited without the main OS ever knowing.
In this video we expose: • How your phone actually contains two completely separate computers • Why the modem stays awake for E911 emergency calls (and what else it does in the background) • How attackers can hijack your location, calls, and texts by exploiting only the radio chip • Who really controls the modem (Qualcomm, MediaTek, Samsung + your carrier) • Why Airplane Mode, removing the SIM, and even powering down don’t fully protect you From journalists in hostile regions to everyday privacy-conscious users — this hidden computer affects everyone.
A "good" faraday bag is hard to find, it takes more than some aluminized mylar to stop a cell signal.
Boy, someone disagreed without actually tying it. You can put your phone in a microwave oven (a box meant to contain microwaves) and it will still get enough of a signal to ring. A good faraday bag has to be more than a few microns of aluminum.
The real reason they did away with removable batteries.
The sneaky fuckers.
There is a small typo (a dropped dot st the end of a sentence) that significantly changes the last paragraph:
• Why Airplane Mode, removing the SIM, and even powering down don’t fully protect you From journalists in hostile regions to everyday privacy-conscious users — this hidden computer affects everyone.
So it reads to me like airplane mode doesn't fully protect me from journalists in hostile regions :)
Older Faiphone models let you remove the battery in seconds, for newer ones you need a screwdriver.
Why is the fairphone moving that way? We have torx, it's not a blocker for us, but the rarer your screws' bitting is, the harder time people will have interacting with the hardware they bought...
Good question.
I suppose there is a reason, maybe to avoid the earlier plastic clips which tended to break (my FP5, now owned by my father, had 2 broken in about 2 yeard of use).
Moreover it could improve the water resistance reliability, by making sure it doesn't open in case of a shock (my FP5 tended to open, with the battery flying away, every time it fell).
And maybe, just as a skill check. If you cannot open the rear plate, you cannot remove anything inside (the battery is screwed too). So you need your torx screwdriver anyway 😆.
Should be covered for complete picture. But this doesn't protect you as a consumer. Apple still has to let carriers execute code on phones. From perspective of attacker, targeting apple hw is best investment of time and effort, biggest market per exploit found.
Sames as PC/ Laptop Intel Management Engine, runs its own microcode on the chip. Can access keyboard logging, network, and other aspects. There was a 2017 exploit where attackers could login with a null password and compromise your PC.
The movies were right! We should all smash our phones! Who's with me? On 3, 2,
I thought this was known. It's one reason your phone battery dies when turned off. Because that chip never actually turns off.
like food chips?
They can act like a cheap faraday bag in a pinch
THANK YOU!
I really wish they're were more phones like the librem which just had a pci connected modem so you could just remove it you wanted.
Unfortunately I know of no opensource firmware for cell modems ...
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@lemmy.ca
Big tech and governments are monitoring and recording your eating activities. c/Privacy provides tips and tricks to protect your privacy against global surveillance.
Partners:
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A good faraday bag works as well as taking the battery out used to.
But, of course, that only works until you take it out of the bag. But, taking the battery out only works till you put the battery back in.
The only way to stop corporations from doing evil is to regulate them, and then enforce the regulation. Which is why they all lobby against regulation and bribe politicians, and judges.
They've also spent billions over the years fooling poors into believing that deregulation was good for them, when all it does is tighten the grip of the filthy rich.
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