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[C341]Cell Phone Security System

by Mike Foster, The Foster Institute, Mik

One way to infect someone's cell phone is with a malicious program called FlexiSPY. Here's how it works. Let's say that Dave, our company president, wants to follow up a little bit on one of his senior managers, Greg, and find out what he's up to. Dave would simple go to Greg sometime and say, “Greg, do you mind if I borrow your mobile phone? Mine's not working and I want to check in with my family.” And Greg says, “Sure, no problem.”

So Dave takes his phone. Now Dave has already been to FlexiSPY, and they've already given him the instructions of how to infect Greg's phone with a little virus by simply visiting a web site URL. So Dave does that. He acts like he's dialing the number, and then just to make it look good, he says into the phone, “Yeah, hi. I was just checking in. Is everything okay? Oh yeah, Greg loaned me his phone. He's a great guy. Okay. I'll talk to you later. Bye.” Then Dave hands Greg his phone back.

Meanwhile, Greg thinks everything is just dandy. He loaned his boss his phone and he's a good guy. But now, any phone calls that Greg places or receives, Dave is going to get a report of who the other party is, what their phone number is, and how long they were on the phone. All that information is available to Dave for just $49.95.

Now, if Dave decided to splurge and spend $149.95, he can remotely activate the microphone on Greg's phone and actually listen in on Greg's activities any time Greg's phone is turned on. So if Greg is at home tonight with his family, Dave could listen to their conversation at the dinner table. If Greg is in a closed meeting, Dave could listen to the closed meeting. Essentially, Dave could hear anything going on in Greg's life, as long as his phone is turned on.

The CIA knows what a serious danger this technology is. In fact, the CIA is very concerned that this spying technology might get on the cell phones of some of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court or other high-ranking government officials. If that were to happen, it would really undermine the security of the United States of America.

Therefore, never hand your phone to anyone. If someone asks me to borrow my cell phone, I say, “Sure. But I'm going to dial your number, and I'm going to stand two inches from your face the entire time you have the conversation.”

At that, the person who asked to borrow my cell phone usually replies, “Never mind.”

If you have recently handed someone your cell phone to use and are wondering if some sort of spying device is on your phone, you could have your IT professional examine the phone. Or, if your phone is getting out of date anyway, now might be a good time to trade in your phone for a new one. You can keep the same phone number, since the virus affects the phone itself and not the phone number.

If you ever look at your phone and see the screen says that the phone is “connected” or “in use” when you didn't place a call or answer a call, then this may indicate that you have some sort of phone spyware on it. Unfortunately, most people don't look at their phone when they're not using it. They just leave it in their belt clip, purse, pocket, in a desk drawer, or on a table.

You would also see tell-tale signs of someone spying on your calls on your phone bill. But not everyone examines their bill, and some people never even see their bills if they use a bookkeeper to mind their finances.

If you have the right tools, you can figure out if something was loaded onto your phone. One company called Trust Digital makes a very nice central management tool to audit, manage, and protect all of your phones and PDA's in the enterprise.

A common theme you will notice in this book for protecting your network is the concept of “Central Management.” What's that? Well, ask any IT professional, and they'll tell you that one of the worst things in our career is when we have to change something on all the company's computers. It doesn't matter if you have five computers, fifty computers, five hundred computers, or more, that's way too much work to visit each computer, phone, or PDA, individually. We want to be able to manage things centrally.

Today's organizations have PDAs, cell phones, Blackberries, etc. All of these devices also hold sensitive data. So what happens when one of your employees is traveling for business and accidentally leaves his mobile phone or PDA in a taxi? If you had a central management system in place, that employee would simply call the IT department and tell them what happened. Then someone in IT can make a few keystrokes on the keyboard and erase everything in that particular phone or PDA.

Now, everything on that phone gets securely erased. And when I say securely erased, that means inside that phone it's writing ones and zeros on the data card to actually erase information. Even data forensics can't get that data back anymore. It's just gone.

In the event that whoever rides in the taxi next finds the phone and somehow returns it to you, your IT department can make a few more keystrokes on the keyboard and restore all the data. That sure beats having to go through a four-hour process of reloading everything.

So don't overlook your cell phone and PDA when it comes to data security. There are tools out there that will help you—use them.

Action Item: Treat your cell phone like you treat your toothbrush. Never let anyone use it.

The technology of digital communication has literally revolutionized the way people are living their life now. The advent of cell phone technology has brought the distance barrier down to the lowest. Cell phones are no longer perceived as a prized possession of the well-off. It has found its way into the hands of every next person you witness around you.

With the huge of use of cellular phones, quite a few companies around the world have woken up the business potentiality of this digital device. As a result, cell phone manufactures are vying with each other to capture the most sizable segment of the cell phone consumers by offering the best cell phone services at the lowest possible price. Moreover, they are spending thousands of dollars on research and development to outdo each other in the race of offering the most advanced technology to the cell phone users.

On the flipside, the burgeoning use of cell phones around the planet has given rise to many threats that are associated with it. Starting from theft of cell phones to radiation effect, cell phones have unleashed an array of threats the cell phone users around the world must be careful about.

Following are some of the possibilities that you cell phone can be subjected to:

Theft: Swanky cell phones are an emerging fashion norm these days; without a doubt, equally rising is the number of cell phone theft cases. With high-end cell phones models being the desire of every ambitious executive, they also become the target of kleptomaniacs who can lift cell phones at the drop of a hat. Hence, the swankier your cell phone, the more vulnerable it can becomes to the possibility of being lifted. Always make sure that you don`t leave your cell phone away from you carelessly. Besides, you should immediately inform your cell phone service provider to block or suspend your account to avoid misuse of your cell phone.

Cloning: Cloning refers to the practice of illegally charging calls to someone else`s account. When it comes to Cloning, Analog cell phones are prone to be misused to a large extent. However, if you are using a Digital cell phone, you are mostly safe from this potential threat. Cloning, as a matter of fact, can drain your account. Hence, you need to be extra careful about thing factor.

Security: Since conversations through wireless devices are transmitted using radio frequencies, it is likely that anyone can eavesdrop on your private conversation using radio scanners. However, if you are using a digital wireless phone, you are less vulnerable. The reason why digital wireless conversation is secured is that its conversations are encoded and difficult for anyone to eavesdrop on.

Insurance: Insurance is the safest way to ensure that even if your cell phone is stolen, you are likely to be compensated for it. Even if you lose your phone, cell phone insurance provider will provide to cover the loss. However, the insurance services may differ from one service provider to another. Hence, before you take up the service of any particular service provider, just make sure that it is the best one around; at least for your specific purpose.

The above are some of the circumstances where any cell phone user can find themselves in. Buying a cell phone can be an exhilarating experience; however, not being careful about your proud possession can bring you countless agony. Hence, it is really important to take care of your cell phone and cell phone services to ensure that you lead peaceful life. Provide for your cell phone in such a way that it ensure security, safety and longevity of your of cell phone.

Article Source : Pg. 39

About Author

Both Mike Foster, The Foster Institute & Roberto Sedycias are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Mike Foster, The Foster Institute has sinced written about articles on various topics from Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Mobile Phone Reviews and Computers and The Internet. Most executives would rather have a root canal than learn technology. Mike Foster has 25 years experience explaining technology in plain English to owners and executives. Executives learn tips to increase profits and avoid losses. IT professionals are emp. Mike Foster, The Foster Institute's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.

Roberto Sedycias has sinced written about articles on various topics from GPS Cell Phones, Writing and Movie Reviews. This article can be accessed in portuguese from the Article section of page Roberto Sedycias works as IT c. Roberto Sedycias's top article generates over 1500000 views. to your Favourites.