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Using mobile phones securely

  • 23-01-2015 4:21pm
    #1
    obsidianclock
    Closed Accounts Posts: 158 ✭✭


    In the HBO hit series The Wire, disposable cell phones were the bane of detectives' lives. Drug dealers obtained these prepaid "burners" in mass quantities with cash at multiple stores hundreds of miles away from where they were used.

    After a week or two of use, a crook would destroy one cheap handset and fetch a new one. The Baltimore Police detectives' inability to tap the phones stymied their investigation into one of the city's most ruthless crime families—until they found a way to track the devices. See more at:

    arstechnica. com/security/2013/10/how-the-nsa-breakthrough-may-allow-tracking-of-burner-cell-phones/

    This led me to wonder, given that the government can track the metadata of a prepay phone, even if they don't know your number or the content of the call, is it safe to use a mobile phone if you want to contact someone privately?

    Can anyone think of a way around this issue? My only thoughts are to try to use a smartphone and send e-mails encrypted with gpg or make an encrypted call over VOIP rather than rely on the cell network.


Comments

  • #2
    FSL
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,456 ✭✭✭FSL


    The only way to make truly secure calls is using your own encrypted VPN, something like running OpenVPN server on your machine along with a software pbx e.g. asterisk and openVPN client on your trusted recipients machines, then you can use a softphone or an IP phone to speak with each other.


  • #3
    obsidianclock
    Closed Accounts Posts: 158 ✭✭obsidianclock


    FSL wrote: »
    The only way to make truly secure calls is using your own encrypted VPN, something like running OpenVPN server on your machine along with a software pbx e.g. asterisk and openVPN client on your trusted recipients machines, then you can use a softphone or an IP phone to speak with each other.

    Thanks FSL, that sounds good.

    On the great and open internet, I have heard of ZRTP which can be used to secure calls but of course that wouldn't protect your metadata.

    Maybe we need to forgo cellphones altogether if we want to talk safely?


  • #4
    AnCatDubh
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,393 ✭✭✭AnCatDubh


    Well the mexican drug cartels thought out this problem and came to a conclusion that they would need to set up their own mobile network - which they did. That is until such time as the military pulled it down - aparently it was really extensive at the time of operation (circa 2010 IIRC) - not sure of its current status. Aparently kidnappings of telecommunications engineers became rather important in order to set up these networks so you might have to do that too if you are planning on getting off the grid :D

    For Americans and Canadian folk, they can use burner app (http://www.burnerapp.com) which doesn't take them off the grid but if they want a 'burner phone' number for an ebay or craigslist transaction, it can be very effective. Won't stop authorities from either eavesdropping or syphoning metadata though.


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