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Legal Spying Via the Cell Phone System
An anonymous reader writes "Two researchers say they have found a way to exploit weaknesses in the mobile telecom system to legally spy on people by figuring out the private cell phone number of anyone they want, tracking their whereabouts, and listening to their voice mail."
As far as I can tell, they assert that it is legal, therefore they think it is legal. Come on folks -- just because you aren't breaking or entering, or murdering someone does not make what you are doing "legal." There are all sorts of privacy laws that come into play here -- and I strongly suspect that I can find at least one prosecutor/judge/jury combo in this country that disagrees. I can't even begin to describe how many laws could be implicated by breaking into someone's voice mail!
Yes, IAAL, but IANYL.
If you just let a disconnected battery sit in a drawer it will drain itself too. It must be wireless electricity doodads in the battery and phone so the phone can send information on you to the secret police even if the battery is pulled. Quick, run before they find out you know too much!
Or maybe batteries just have a tendency to run dead when not in use due to self-discharge. Now get off my tech site.
Get a web developer
I once worked in a secured facility (DOE lab) where security briefings included being told that one of the reasons cellphones are not allowed is that they can be remotely tracked, accessed, and the microphones can be activated--even when the phone is off.
Whether its true or not, at a minimum, the people involved in setting security protocols for the DOE certainly think it is.