Re: Covert Microphone Application

["Aaron" <microchp () microchp org>]

On Sun, 30 Jul 2006 11:52:39 +0200
 Volker Tanger <vtlists () wyae de> wrote:
> Greetings!
>
>
> Or as "on demand" audio espionage device: most 
> cellphones with
> attached headset can be switched to auto-answer. In this 
> case you
> usually cannot switch the cellphone to silent mode - to 
> prevent exactly
> this attack vector.
>
> But you can switch off vibration alert - and when 
> loading the cellphone
> with custom ring tones usually noone will notice. Such 
> ringtones could
> be ultrasonic WAV/MP3s 
> (http://www.ultrasonic-ringtones.com/) or
> similarily MIDI file with a single ultra-quiet 
> (velocity=1),
> extremely high or low and ultra-short tone.
>
> The only problem for a few cellphone models is to find a 
> combined
> headset+charger plug if it only has one connector (like 
> the Siemens
> models) if you want to install a "permanent" listening 
> device. But then
> the excuse "I thought it was stolen - it must have 
> slipped out" does not
> hold anymore.  ;-)
>
> Bye
>
> Volker
>
>
> --
>
> Volker Tanger    http://www.wyae.de/volker.tanger/
> --------------------------------------------------
> vtlists () wyae de                    PGP Fingerprint
> 378A 7DA7 4F20 C2F3 5BCC  8340 7424 6122 BB83 B8CB
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


To add to that; most cell phones have firmware 
replacements or what some would call hacks or mods that 
are easy to customize and install.  This of course will 
void your warrentee and make you a terrah-ist, but... you 
can go beyond using ring tones that are quiet.

Instead, mod the phone so that none of the buttons do 
anything, the power button only turns the phone on, but 
not off and the lcd display no longer backlights or has 
anything visible on the display.  Hard code it to 
auto-answer instantly.

Even if someone finds the phone, they will think it is 
dead/broken.  The only way they will know it is working; 
or for that matter transmitting, would either be to have a 
poorly shielded amplifier (pc speakers) near it, or have 
an RF detector.  Have a "Reward if returned" sticker under 
the battery so that your victims hand your phone back to 
you in exchange for twenty bucks or so.

Oh, and disable the "battery alert" as well so it doesnt 
beep once the battery starts to die.  You can also set the 
earpiece volume and ringer volume to never go above 0.


Set a key combination that returns the lcd display and 
keys to normal operation.  You can find examples of that 
in most existing firmware code, such as those used to 
display details regarding signal strenth, cell site 
identifiers, network codes and more.

This is of course all theory.  I have no memory of sending 
this email.  In fact, I didn't.



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