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AT&T Says Malware Secretly Unlocked Hundreds of Thousands of Phones

Posted by Soulskill on from the for-tenuous-definitions-of-the-word-malware dept.

alphadogg writes: AT&T said three of its employees secretly installed software on its network so a cellphone unlocking service could surreptitiously funnel hundreds of thousands of requests to its servers to remove software locks on phones. The locks prevent phones from being used on competing networks and have been an important tool used by cellular carriers to prevent customers from jumping ship.

123 comments

  1. Doesn't sound like malware to me. by aussersterne · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just sayin.

    Or at least, stretches the definition of "malware" to the breaking point.

    --
    STOP . AMERICA . NOW
    1. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by bistromath007 · · Score: 1

      Apparently, malware:patch::weed:flower

    2. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by jbmartin6 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "Malware" is a matter of perspective. From this perspective of the AT&T lock mafia, this is malware.

      --
      This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    3. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Depends on which side of the desk you are on. There are some "software" developers that would consider antivirus malware.

    4. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      Sounds more like what might be termed "beneware" rather than "malware".

    5. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 2

      Depends on which side of the desk you are on. There are some "software" developers that would consider antivirus malware.

      lets see if it looks like malware
      extorts me to buy the next better version, - so adware at the least
      eats ram
      eats proccesor
      hides itself in installers for other programs,
      hard to remove and removing can break the host system when doing so
      looks like malware to me.

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
    6. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      My first thought as well. I guess malware is in the eye of the beholder.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    7. Re: Doesn't sound like malware to me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If you mean all the spying AT&T software that came preinstalled, along with the gigabyte+ of "critical system software" (like uber) that AT&T forced on my phone before I rooted it, then yes there is malware on their network.

    8. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by jonnythan · · Score: 2

      It's malware that was installed on the company's servers. It's for a "good" purpose, but it's malware just like the malware installed in Office Space to funnel fractions of pennies off of transactions.

    9. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wouldn't have a problem with this personally if it wasn't done with profit motive.

    10. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by aussersterne · · Score: 4, Informative

      I guess I tie the idea of "malware" to two concepts:

      1) Mal, as in harmful to the user.
      2) Ware, as in software.

      To me, "malware" as a concept is basically about end users. It is software that is installed by endusers that does something contrary to what they expect, possibly without their knowledge, that is harmful to them. Malware is inherently deceptive, and the method of its deception is posing as something else. It is directed from bad actors toward strangers that these actors wish to exploit. It is a numbers game, a volume game.

      This was not installed by end users, it did not pose as something else, and the harm was directed at an organization by individuals within the organization. It was not distributed widely, but was a single instance. I'd call this a "hack" or a "sabotage" or an "embezzlement" of some kind before I'd call it malware. Maybe a new term is needed.

      But it seems a big jump from the widespread distribution of a Windows wizard to millions of hapless end users all the way to the willful and direct modification of company equipment by employees for gain.

      --
      STOP . AMERICA . NOW
    11. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hides itself in installers for other programs,

      ???

    12. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

      hides itself in installers for other programs,

      ???

      referring to anti-virus software in the parent post

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
    13. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 2

      I guess I tie the idea of "malware" to two concepts:
      1) Mal, as in harmful to the user.
      2) Ware, as in software.

      You're using the wrong interpretation. "Mal" is a short form of the German "Einmal", sometimes. "Ware" is goods or commodities or a product. So AT&T's service is "sometimes product", i.e. you pay for their phone service and sometimes the product is delivered.

    14. Re: Doesn't sound like malware to me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Palware?

    15. Re: Doesn't sound like malware to me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hated those things on standardized tests. They only make sense to people who think in very limited ways. I can think of many many different ways to invalidate the intended meaning of any analogy you give me. Being good at understanding analogies means you are strictly follow the "rules" of social conformity. That is actually why they put those questions on those tests. They want to see if you are going to apply the knowledge in the way society has (hopefully) brainwashed you to apply it.

    16. Re: Doesn't sound like malware to me. by bistromath007 · · Score: 1

      That's why the questions are syllogisms instead of "explain this analogy." It's trivial to invalidate any analogy, because analogies only make sense if you agree on a context that gives them a particular relationship. A well-crafted syllogism, on the other hand, has an unambiguous context, because it's talking about the relationship between the two sets, not the objects themselves.

      tl;dr: nobody really cares if you suck at syllogisms, but you look ridiculous when you try to claim that it's because you're just too darned creative for our feeble human language.

    17. Re:Doesn't sound like malware to me. by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      If they are referring to McAfee or Norton those developers would be correct.

  2. Good guy teleco emplyees... by wardrich86 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If only the idea of a carrier-locked phone could be made illegal... It would put more pressure on the companies to actually come up with decent pricing and plans to secure their customers!

    1. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by sexconker · · Score: 3, Informative

      In the US, carriers are now required by the FCC to unlock a phone on request, if the phone is not still on a subsidy contract.
      It's been like this for about 2 years now.

    2. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In the US, carriers are now required by the FCC to unlock a phone on request, if the phone is not still on a subsidy contract.
      It's been like this for about 2 years now.

      Yeah, have fun going through that "request" with AT&T. It is damn near impossible to get them to unlock a phone.

    3. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it shouldnt have to become illegal for people to give a crap about what they purchase and not get locked phones

    4. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by wardrich86 · · Score: 2

      All you have to do with ATT is get hit with their "malware"

    5. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Decent plans exist for those that go seeking them. Verizon loyalty is only $60 a month for 2gb of data and all the other goodies. They also still offer 2yr contracts to those on the loyalty program which reduced the cost of my 32gb iphone from 599 to 99. It's like a secret menu on restaurants and took me calling 3 different account employees before one spilled the beans, but for the tenacious the deals are out there.

    6. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      What? I've done this with AT&T several times. You go to their website, enter your phone information (and it includes details on how to get it), and it sends you an email with exactly what to type on your phone to unlock it. The whole process only takes a few minutes.

    7. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Scoth · · Score: 4, Informative

      This, pretty much. I went round and round with AT&T trying to get an off-contract iPhone 4 unlocked for over a year before I ended up trading it in for double-credit on a iPhone 6 for my wife for far more than it would have sold for on eBay or the like even unlocked. They just kept declining it with no explanation, and the customer service reps were no help.

    8. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by mrchaotica · · Score: 2

      Decent plans exist for those that go seeking them. Verizon loyalty is only $60 a month for 2gb of data and all the other goodies.

      That's a horrible rip-off. I pay half that much for two and a half times as much data with T-Mobile.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    9. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by dbraden · · Score: 4, Informative

      I had at&t unlock my iphone a few months ago and it couldn't have been simpler. I did it from their web site with a very simple form and it was unlocked within 2 days.

      Maybe I was just lucky, I don't know, I'm just a sample of one. I have no love for AT&T, but at least that worked well for me.

    10. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by sims+2 · · Score: 0

      And a quarter of the coverage....

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    11. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by b0bby · · Score: 1

      I got Cricket (owned by AT&T) to unlock a freebie phone after the required 4 months (I think they now raised it to 6). Just went to their chat support, made the request, no problems.
      This may be just another example of prepaid being better than postpaid.

    12. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      i think the website process works, calling their "help" to get it done old fashioned way, you know with customer support!! is a nightmare.
      i wonder if they make it such a miserable process because they know older people will be doing it the call-in method and if frustrated enough will just stick around till dead anyway.

    13. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by b0bby · · Score: 1

      I pay $35 for pretty much the same deal as the Verizon loyalty plan on Cricket, and I get AT&T coverage rather than T-Mobile. I find it's quite a lot better, worth the extra $5 a month to me.
      Of course, the $500 subsidy on the gp's phone phone is worth $20/month, so if you want that phone the Verizon deal is pretty good, especially considering that their coverage is even better than AT&T. I'm not willing to call 3 different people to get that though.

    14. Re: Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Straighttalk "unlimited" is 45$/month (less by the year). For that you are granted 5Gb/billing cycle of high speed data (unlimited dialup speed data after that), unlimited texts, and unlimited talk time (local or long distance). The only downside is that you need to own the phone (read as no subsidies).

    15. Re: Good guy teleco emplyees... by Adriax · · Score: 2

      Went from verizon to straight talk for 2 phones. The cost difference paid for both phones in 5 months.
      I don't mind dropping $150 a phone for decent handsets when I'll end up saving $1140 over a 2 year verizon family plan.

      --
      I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
    16. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by gaiageek · · Score: 4, Informative

      I have a dual-SIM phone with one SIM on T-Mobile's network, the other on AT&T's (both are MVNOs). My experience has been that T-Mobile has better overall coverage in the areas they cover -- and by that I mean actually getting 3 or 4 bars on T-Mobile while indoors and getting 0 or 1 bars on AT&T (obviously in the exact same location since it's in the exact same phone).

      I think it's pretty well known that T-Mobile is not the carrier of choice if you're looking for extensive rural coverage. If you need that, my impression is that Verizon is the way to go. But if you're in an urban area 99% of the time, T-Mobile is amazing given their prices and their perks, i.e. free unlimited data and text when traveling overseas. (I think most people don't realize just how unprecedented it is to have unlimited data when roaming abroad, and to date I know of no other carrier in the WORLD who offers that.)

      --
      www.gaiageek.com
    17. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Ha ha! Disregard that. I suck cocks.

    18. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ting huh?

      I have a dual sim phone and considered using Ting and H2O wireless to do the same thing you mentioned, but not living in the city, only working it one, I'm not sure it's really that useful to me to have T-mobile at all (wifi and work and wifi and home).

    19. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 1

      I just went into a store and asked them, and they did it. It was about the farthest thing from "damn near impossible".

    20. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes T-Mobile coverage is worse, but even at 1/4 the coverage, that only translates to about 2 times a year on average where I don't have service when someone with ATT or Verizon does.

      I am willing to save hundreds of dollars a year if the only downside is being minimally inconvenienced. The yearly savings for me is more than the cost of a new phone (~$720).

    21. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      T-Mobile is amazing given their prices and their perks, i.e. free unlimited data and text when traveling overseas

      Except for those who don't get free text and data when traveling overseas. If I wanted to pay T-Mobile twice as much as I'm currently paying (for the same service) I could maybe get free text and data during the 5% of the time of the year I'm overseas. I say "maybe" because whatever T-Mobile says I don't believe until I've seen it happen.

      Like a couple of months ago when I called customer service specifically to talk about text and data while I was overseas and was told I would get free texts and data while overseas, and I wound up being charged $2 for 147kB (that's right, kilobytes) of data, and being charged $11 for a call to customer service.

      And then the next time I called about getting text and data overseas and was talked into a "data pass" -- $25 for a week -- and then found out that the data pass only buys me faster access, not free access. I only found that out by calling back to ask "what happens when my data pass data limit is reached? Do I get a text telling me, or does it just stop?" Answer: "you continue to get data." I could get 4G speeds at $15/Mb with the pass, but my phone only does 3G anyway so I'd still be paying $15/Mb with no speedup -- the pass is useless.

      Like I said, pay twice what I'm paying for 50 weeks of the year to get "free data and texts", or buy a SIM for 10 euros to cover all my needs. Hmmm. And using the local SIM means I am not going to risk getting calls at the outrageous voice roaming rates you forgot to mention that T-Mobile has.

      If you've never been hit with a $2.49/minute roaming charge for a call that you didn't know happened because your phone was off with another $1.49/minute charge for the call to be forwarded back to the US to your voicemail, which you never got, you've never known the true delight in dealing with T-Mobile.

    22. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Obfuscant · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I am willing to save hundreds of dollars a year if the only downside is being minimally inconvenienced. The yearly savings for me is more than the cost of a new phone (~$720).

      What convinced me the other carriers are crooks is how they advertise the prices for their plans and then tack on another $20 to actually use a phone with those plans. Huh? $60/month for 12Gb, but actually using a phone to get to that data adds $20/month? That's, I think, Verizon's current advertising for their "one plan" that actually four different plans with different amounts of data.

      I almost signed up with AT&T at what I thought would be a good rate, and then was told "and add $40 if you want to use a phone on that plan". I told the guy I already had a phone, I didn't need a new one, and he told me it wasn't to GET a phone, it was to USE my own phone.

      That's like selling a car for $100, but add on another $20,000 if you want it to actually be able to move.

    23. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Honestly bet those customer service reps have the instructions available to help with unlocking a phone but instead claim ignorance when asked because it usually takes time to explain over the phone to someone not already somewhat technically adept.

      They do this to avoid higher average handling time metrics so they dont get churned out of the call center.

      setting the system up like this is a brilliant means around the requirements of the FCC if this is malice rather than just accidental.

    24. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm not quite sure where you've gotten this impression. I submitted an unlock request from AT&T on their website to unlock both of my parent's old iPhones so that they could sell them. It took less than two days for them to process it. Within 48 hours I had two fully unlocked contract free phones to hand back to my parents. At no point in this endeavor did anyone hassle me or slow me down. In fact I didn't interact with a human once.

    25. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup... Sorry I'm posting as AC, but I can confirm I did this with a 4s two years ago on AT&T and it was done within the day. Hours even.

    26. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must've been pretty incompetent then. You go to their unlock page, enter the information, and hit submit. I've done this before. Many other people have done this as well. Do you need assistance taking a piss, too?

    27. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      With tmobile, the same exact phone and data amounts cost substantially less with prepaid than with billed payment.

      The salesperson tried to upsell me so I asked her what it would cost... about $30 more. I showed her and she gave a rueful smile and dropped the subject.

      I'm retired and going to a Tmobile prepaid phone from Sprint has given me a free hotspot, a gig of data a month (which I never use even tho I play a lot of boom beach in odd places), and saved me $73 per month vs Sprint. I have unlimited music data too (from recognized music sources like pandora). I had "unlimited" data with Sprint but coverage gaps on my most common driving paths so music would go dead for a block or two anyway.

      With Tmobile, I have unbelievably bad service inside the university center downstairs where we play boardgames. Signal is spotty upstairs. And at the dallas convention center hotel. I had to go above the 8th floor or outside the hotel to get service. Other phones have trouble there too but only downstairs. Thinking of getting a prepaid verizon phone for that one place since verizon has a repeater in the hotel.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    28. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by mysidia · · Score: 1

      That's like selling a car for $100, but add on another $20,000 if you want it to actually be able to move.

      $100 for the car, biometric access control on locks and ignition with $1000 a month license fee for each driver to be enrolled

    29. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by SuluSulu · · Score: 1

      If only the idea of a carrier-locked phone could be made illegal... It would put more pressure on the companies to actually come up with decent pricing and plans to secure their customers!

      Having all phones unlocked would have no effect on plan pricing in the US. There are already reasonably priced plans out there from MVNOs. You just have to pay full price for your phone and sacrifice some on customer service. It might have some effect on the price of the phones themselves but the only sure result is that you would have to pay full price for your phone up front all the time, and only those with the very best credit would be able to use installment plans to pay for phones.

    30. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      In Australia they used to do something similar. Then we got the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, and that organisation had teeth. Not only do they ensure that companies comply with the law in ways the FCC simply lacks the balls to do, but they also bill the telecom companies per complaint for their services regardless if they have merit.

      Pretty soon the companies found out it was cheaper to unlock a customer's phone rather than get a bill for a TIO investigation into a complaint, not even taking into consideration a possible fine.

      End result... I don't think I've seen a locked phone for about 10 years. It's a stupid concept anyway. You want me to not take my subsidsed phone to a competitor? Well I won't anyway because I have something called a "contract" with you and I don't feel like paying 2 companies at once.

    31. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by thejynxed · · Score: 1

      Some people do pay more than one company - especially if you travel a bit and have a dual-band/sim phone. I know when I visit relatives in Canada, I have a SIM I got just for the provider in their area (prepaid), while the other slot holds the SIM I use here at home (contract).

      I imagine it's much the same going from the US to Europe or Asia and vice versa.

      --
      @Mindless Drivel: 100% of Twitter posts ever Tweeted.
    32. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've always kinda come down to the same conclusion....
      HOWEVER, I'm sure there's a formula somewhere they've figured out... for every phone unlocked in advance, they lose .x customers at one of two points:

      1. When the contract is up. The customer can say, hasta la vista that very dia and not have to worry about the hassle/time to unlock it while moving over to another carrier, and porting the number.

      2. When a contract-breaking fee, or rate plan change occurs. Like when a rate goes up, and it suddenly costs .10 per sms instead of .5 or whatever. The contracts can be terminated with no early termination fee within 30 days, so it puts those customers at greater risk of leaving.

    33. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think regardless of the carrier, once you're in the city, you're in a YMMV scenario every time. If your office is in JUST the right corner of a building, somewhere, and there's a nice chunk of line-of-sight through only one stucco wall between you and the t-mobile tower, you're going to swear t-mobile rocks. Meanwhile everyone else in the building with t-mobile has a few skyscrapers between them and the nearest t-mobile tower, but happen to be able to look out of their office and see an at&t rig stuck to the side of a building to cover that area.... etc, so on.
      IF t-mobile had as many towers and the coverage I wanted, I'd switch... at&t to me, is the less of the remaining evils, but not by much.

    34. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not a problem if you're prepaid...

    35. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Yes but that is by necessity. You wouldn't do the same thing in the same area. And even if you did what difference does it make to the company which contracted you the phone? I don't magically get to stop paying the first company just because another company's SIM card is in the phone.

    36. Re:Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not "magic" - you just stop paying the bills. The only leverage a phone company has over someone is to cut off his service and they don't have that leverage if you can put a sim in there from another carrier.

    37. Re: Good guy teleco emplyees... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      when a rate goes up, and it suddenly costs .10 per sms instead of .5 or whatever.

      Down. The word you're looking for is down, since .5 > .1

  3. I wish my phone had been hit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I was out of contract over a year ago, but I'm still fighting to get mine unlocked.

    1. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by Xicor · · Score: 0

      you can solve this by only buying nexus phones, which are always unlocked.

    2. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by sexconker · · Score: 0

      Assuming you're with ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, or US Cellular, ask them why they're renigging on their agreement with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.

    3. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by Xenx · · Score: 2

      Unless you bought the nexus device through a carrier, like AT&T.

    4. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not true. I paid for my Nexus 6 in full from AT&T, and mine was locked. I had to use one of these services to unlock it to switch to google Fi because "we have no record that you paid for that phone in full".

    5. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      from AT&T

      Ah ha! Right there. Found the problem.

      Go to Google's little Nexus site and buy it there. The phone arrives unlocked.

    6. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not true. I paid full price for my Nexus 6 from AT&T and it was SIM Locked. I had to use one of these services to unlock it when I switched to Google Fi because "we have no record that you paid full price for that device".

    7. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL that's fair.

    8. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're already breaking their agreement by adding the impossible captcha to their unlock site:

      https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/unlockrequest

      When you call 611 they refuse to help, and the two local stores I went to claimed they weren't allowed to help. The manager was nice enough to try to help, but even she couldn't past the captcha.

    9. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Verizon actually does carry them.

      http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/google-nexus-6/

    10. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by mark-t · · Score: 1

      Such a dispute is immediately settled if you keep your receipt.

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    11. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by barbariccow · · Score: 1

      Mine was "Puskers". Just looks like it has the middle and bottom of the letters cut off.

    12. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Personally, I would demand the phone be unlocked upon final payment.... And I have done that a couple of times.. Keeping the receipt is nice, but having the phone already unlocked is better...

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    13. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by Karlt1 · · Score: 2

      http://www.verizonwireless.com...

      http://www.att.com/cellphones/...

      http://shop.sprint.com/mysprin...

    14. Re: I wish my phone had been hit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or avoided completely by not buying from them.

    15. Re:I wish my phone had been hit! by TsuruchiBrian · · Score: 1

      There was only one version of US Nexus 5. They were all unlocked even if sold by a carrier.

  4. If AT&T wouldn't refuse... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    To unlock out of contract phones then this probably wouldn't have happened.

    1. Re:If AT&T wouldn't refuse... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Just go in a physical store and refuse to leave until they agree to do it. I've gotten five iPhones that my family has owned unlocked by doing that. They'll tell you that you have to call 611 to get that done, but keep fighting.

    2. Re: If AT&T wouldn't refuse... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Make sure you go to a standalone store. The ones in a mall almost always have security that they can call. I got banned by my local mall for refusing to leave after trying to get my iPhone 4 unlocked before traveling internationally.

    3. Re:If AT&T wouldn't refuse... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hah! I just spent an hour on the phone with AT&T today trying to get mine unlocked. Even transferring to "customer retention" and threatening to cancel didn't help. And my phone is only 2 weeks away from being out of contract...unfortunately, I'm going out of country the week before. Fsck 'em.

  5. Few hundred K activations before someone notices. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you can unlock 100,000+ devices with a single credential it means somebody didn't even bother with audit logging and is undoubtedly on their way to being shitcanned.

    That scheme should not have lasted 30 minutes. Somebody fucked up.

  6. Heros by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Sounds more like this to me "3 employees saved hundreds of thousands of phones from AT&T's network".

    1. Re:Heros by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "Sounds more like this to me "3 employees saved hundreds of thousands of phones from AT&T's network"."

      Saving is no use to you if you don't notice it.

  7. So, heroes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Digital Robin Hoods?

    1. Re:So, heroes? by rogoshen1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      was thinking more like 'Schindler's List'

  8. We need an antonym for malware by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 2

    The practice of AT&T and other carriers to force people who have completed the contract and paid off all the subsidies they got when they signed on is malafide. They make people jump through hoops to use something they have bought and paid for. This software that unlocked the phones is reversing the bad action by the carriers. This software is bona fide. So we need to coin a word for software that is the antonym of malware, May be bonaware or goodware or niceware. Or Ghandhiware because this software is a freedom fighter.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:We need an antonym for malware by jbmartin6 · · Score: 1

      Software?

      --
      This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
    2. Re:We need an antonym for malware by bistromath007 · · Score: 2

      Gandhi was sort of the opposite of a freedom fighter, not sure you knew that.

    3. Re:We need an antonym for malware by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      The software was running on AT&T systems, making AT&T the user. From the user's perspective, the software was malware. Therefore, the headline is accurate.

      If it were running on the phones themselves, making the phone owner the user, then it would not have been malware.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    4. Re:We need an antonym for malware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      How about bonware? The mal in malware comes from the Latin word malus, which is an adjective for evil. The Latin adjective for good is bonus. So let's call this bonware.

    5. Re:We need an antonym for malware by Lab+Rat+Jason · · Score: 1

      Yeah, BadHorseWare sounds better.

      --
      Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
    6. Re:We need an antonym for malware by Blue+Stone · · Score: 1

      In this case, perhaps "liberationware".

      --
      Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
    7. Re:We need an antonym for malware by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Naw, we just need a law that carriers must AUTOMATICALLY unlock a phone that was paid for. So when your contract is up, your phone gets unlocked w/o you having to ask for it.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    8. Re:We need an antonym for malware by evilmousse · · Score: 1

      de-ransomware = liamneesonware

    9. Re:We need an antonym for malware by wasteoid · · Score: 1

      Malevolent : Benevolent
      Malware : Benware

    10. Re:We need an antonym for malware by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      The reality is the whole mess makes no sense at all. They have you on a contract where you agree to pay a set amount each and every month whether you use their phone (theirs until you finish the contract) whether you use it on their network or someone elses (they save money if you use it on someone elses). Stop making payments on that contract and after some warning they can report the phone as stolen. In many countries that means they can block the phone from connecting to any network. So it makes no sense at all to bother with a lock, breach contract without returning the phone and you have stolen that phone (well at least the portion you have yet to pay for).

      So all the Telecoms have to do is allow the blocking of stolen phones from connecting to networks, done and finished, no need for locking from other networks, in fact that should be considered a breach of fair trading practices.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    11. Re:We need an antonym for malware by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      This reminds me of the Nachi worm. It infected computers using the same attack vector as Blaster and then proceeded to patch against Blaster and move on without a destructive payload.

      Kind of like Windows 10 forced updates but in worm form and from a company less shady than MS :-)

    12. Re:We need an antonym for malware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It spreads across the nation
      The nice malware of sin
      It got the application
      That you just sent in!

      From ATT's evaluation
      Your hold-times can now begin
      A Mumbai hour, on-hold all day
      BadHorseWare will make hay

      BadHorseWare
      BadHorseWare
      BadHorseWare
      Not bad!

      The FCC is bought and paid for
      and not watching so beware
      The help that you receive
      Will be American(we swear!)

      So make BadHorseWare gleeful
      Ask ATT to unlock...

      Your contracts up
      There’s no recourse
      Time for Malware
      Think: "BadHorse"

  9. Says they by DriveDog · · Score: 1

    One man's insurgent is another man's patriot.

  10. Freedom of choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's sad that i have more freedom of choice in countries far less "democratic" and "liberal" than USA, than i do in USA, in terms of technology and telecommunications.
    I think it is high time USA banned these idiotic locks and forced them to remove locks outright, rather than have some crappy loophole "unlock upon request" that the carriers can misuse.

    1. Re:Freedom of choice by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's sad that i have more freedom of choice in countries far less "democratic" and "liberal" than USA, than i do in USA, in terms of technology and telecommunications.

      So true. I travel to Cambodia & Vietnam once or twice a year. In Cambodia or Vietnam you can literally walk into any phone store, buy literally any phone, then walk outside to a SIM-chip kiosk (they're every where, staffed by lovely young ladies) and buy a SIM card. Stick it in your phone and *bam*, you're on the air. None of this shit about carriers or contracts or networks or compatibility or any of that stuff- any phone with any SIM works everywhere in the entire country.

      The result is that carriers compete to offer the lowest prices with the most features. And it works- $10 to $20 a month gets you service with all the stuff the highest-cost plans here in the US have.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    2. Re:Freedom of choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Liberal means free... which translates to anyone can do whatever they want. So, that includes owners of companies. They do all kinds of underhanded things to keep you from leaving.

      In a less-free country, the companies would be forced to do something... like let customers do what they want. Weird, I know.

    3. Re:Freedom of choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Vietnam, $10 a month probably buys you a palace, too.

    4. Re:Freedom of choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      this is always coming up... you've got US, South Korea, maybe Japan, and I suppose Sweden(?)(Siemens?) developing different protocols and technologies, then 10 years later, a small country can spend a couple of million dollars for a nice, compact, new-ish system that can cover half their urban areas without breaking a sweat...

  11. White hat malware? by KatchooNJ · · Score: 1

    What do we call this now? Is it white hat malware?

    --
    "Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
    1. Re:White hat malware? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How about bonware? The mal in malware comes from the Latin word malus, which is an adjective for evil. The Latin adjective for good is bonus. So let's call this bonware.

  12. Works for me by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    Now this is some malware I can get behind.

    Someone should start a Kickstarter to fund some malware like this.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  13. Re:Few hundred K activations before someone notice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you can unlock 100,000+ devices with a single credential it means somebody didn't even bother with audit logging and is undoubtedly on their way to being shitcanned.

    That scheme should not have lasted 30 minutes. Somebody fucked up.

    ...
    Fri Sep 18 15:52:55 CDT 2015: test-account: unlock request: fc fa 8d c7 be 2e 7a 3c be c5
    Fri Sep 18 15:53:06 CDT 2015: test-account: unlock request: b1 c1 77 15 95 bb 43 8d 66 c3
    Fri Sep 18 15:53:18 CDT 2015: test-account: unlock request: 17 d9 e8 ff d4 7c 26 a4 42 4a
    ...

  14. Cue the world's smallest violin by Spy+Handler · · Score: 1

    playing the AT&T theme song

  15. I don't believe it .. by nickweller · · Score: 1

    I don't believe it .. what really happened ?

  16. Jaaaaaail break.... by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

    For some reason, I'm hearing the AC/DC song Jailbreak running through my head.

  17. This is clearly not malware by Stan92057 · · Score: 1

    This is clearly not malware, but i think its not what ATT really meant to say either. The people who are still under contract shouldn't be using this program until they have paid off the phone or whatever contract they have that legally prevents them from unlocking the phone. That still doesn't make it malware. And i would think ATT can easily see who is unlocking a phone who shouldn't be unlocking it. Being we live in an age where we have zero privacy and all.

    --
    Jack of all trades,master of none
  18. Depends... by gwolf · · Score: 1

    on your definition of "fight". It need notbe violently.

  19. Phone locking it's stupid by hyperar · · Score: 2

    If i have a contract, i can't cancel it before the contract allows me to without a penalty, so, why do you lock my phone?, i'd still be under the obligation of paying for the service?. Phone network locking shouldn't be a thing, it's beyond stupid.

  20. Ironic! by kaka.mala.vachva · · Score: 1

    So I need to cheer for malware this time?

  21. ATT employees rock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yea team!

  22. Money by Etherwalk · · Score: 1

    If i have a contract, i can't cancel it before the contract allows me to without a penalty, so, why do you lock my phone?, i'd still be under the obligation of paying for the service?. Phone network locking shouldn't be a thing, it's beyond stupid.

    Money.

    First, they don't want you to switch services. If they make it harder, or make it more likely you'll wait till a certain time and then forget, they make more money.

    Second, they won't collect that penalty. They will collect it from some people and then collect a percentage of it by selling it to a debt collector.

  23. Now I'm conflicted by pseudorand · · Score: 1

    Does the world really have room for multiple superheros? I'd hate to forget about Mr. Snowden, but these guys certainly did something a bit more practical, which is always a bit plus in my book.

    In any case, I think a Nobel prize is in order. If there's any debate about which Nobel prize, I say we just award them prizes in multiple categories.

  24. Unlocked phones by Scooter30 · · Score: 1

    Most of those people with the unlocked phones will never know the difference so what's the big deal?

  25. Malware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ATT is the only malware I see.

  26. Jumping ship? by Bert64 · · Score: 1

    an important tool used by cellular carriers to prevent customers from jumping ship.

    Handset locks don't stop anything, it is contract law which ensures people pay for the remainder of their contract terms... Handset locks just decrease the usefulness and resale value of the handset, while creating an artificial grey market in unlocking methods.

    I intentionally avoid any operator who supplies locked handsets.

    --
    http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    1. Re:Jumping ship? by SuluSulu · · Score: 1

      an important tool used by cellular carriers to prevent customers from jumping ship.

      Handset locks don't stop anything, it is contract law which ensures people pay for the remainder of their contract terms... Handset locks just decrease the usefulness and resale value of the handset, while creating an artificial grey market in unlocking methods.

      I intentionally avoid any operator who supplies locked handsets.

      The purpose of locked phones isn't to keep people from switching carriers. Having similar plan pricing, focusing on "best coverage" in specific areas, employer discount programs, retention offers, different network technology and most importantly individuals own reluctance to change does that.

      Lots of people want to believe that the big companies lock phones to trap them but the real reason is fraud. Cell phone fraud is a lot bigger than most people think.

      It works like this: Company A sells phones and service for Verizon. Company A buys Iphone 6's for about $600. A person comes in and buys 2 iphones for $150 each totaling $300 with a contract. The person then goes to another location to buy more phones. As many as they can get away with. Then the person never pays their bill so Company A NEVER GETS PAID BY VERIZON. Thus they lose $600 per phone. 2 phone = $1200 loss, 5 phones = $3000.

      It used to be that people doing this would focus on AT&T. Now they just want Verizon phones because they are unlocked for international use. That makes it lot easier to resell them overseas.

      I'm just glad that things are moving to installment plans/ full price phones. Now the carrier is the one taking on the liability. And since installment plans require a higher level credit check it's a lot more difficult to commit fraud. Of course, what it means now is that those with poor credit (mostly low income) are now stuck with cheap phones. They come in to get a good phones and now they have to make a 30-40% down payment, if they can get them at all. It use to be that they would just buy last years flagship phones on contract for $0-$50.

  27. Oh boohoo! by 0xdeaddead · · Score: 1

    boo freaking hoo, spying, lying no good AT&T.

  28. Freedom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The best way is to buy a phone in a free country, such as Dubai UAE. Then you can put any sim card you want in it.

  29. Re:Few hundred K activations before someone notice by sexconker · · Score: 1

    Nobody every audits logs.
    Welcome to the real world.