This news website link suggests that an IMSI catcher was used and linked to this website explaining the IMSI catcher.
This website provides information about a GSM Interceptor, AKA IMSI catcher that spoofs a legitimate cell phone tower providing cell phone call services. Liked to this site is: Your Cell Phone is a Tracking Device.
It discusses how CarrierIQ software works (can work?) on 141 million of cell phones.
From this point the plot thickens and gets very deep. On one hand CarrierIQ wants to market its product. On the other hand it does not want to say exactly what it does, is capable of doing in simple, straightforward terms. What CarrierIQ does say and how it says it is an exercise in euphemisms and reading between the lines. Best understood by technical types who understand this kind of language and interpret what it is really saying. CarrierIQ is not selling their software to the general public!
Interpret this from the CarrierIQ website:
"MNOs typically have access to data from inside their networks, as well as some user-generated information, but they have little insight on what is happening on the device itself. Only device-sourced metrics can give them a true view of the performance of a device to help resolve device support issues and improve their subscribers’ experience............Discover revenue enhancing opportunities: Identifies service upsell opportunities."
"About iQ xPlore
iQ xPlore provides network operators and device vendors with a device-sourced big data mobile intelligence platform to glean insights into their customers’ experience. iQ xPlore is deployed with Tier-1 operators who rely on the insights it delivers for optimization of customer experience, application portfolios, and network coverage."
"Carrier iQ’s big data platform offers proven scalability, with over 12 petabytes of data processed each month and more than 200 million mobile devices deployed to date. Backed by committed investors, the Carrier iQ team serves Tier-1 mobile network operators and device vendors from its offices in Sunnyvale, Boston, London and Kuala Lumpur. A network of global and local partners extends the Carrier iQ reach to all markets."
A petabyte is a big bunch of data!
A reasonable person might conclude that there are some privacy issues related to what CarrierIQ provides.
For example: This link to CarrierIQ seeking to pause a privacy lawsuit while they appeal a trial judge's refusal to send the case to arbitration. Ahhhaaa.....Arbitration, a way to avoid (evade) the formal judicial system with a suitable substitute?
From the link:
"Carrier IQ and the manufacturers argue that they're likely to prevail on appeal and will “suffer irreparable harm,” unless the case is stayed."
Duh! We gonna prevail on appeal anyhow. Save ya selves the trouble of the court case and just let us go to arbitration if ya know what is good for ya. You know what we mean? Lets make a deal.
More from the Link:
"The news sparked litigation against Carrier IQ and six device manufacturers, including HTC, Samsung and LG Electronics. Carrier IQ and the manufacturers argued that case should go to arbitration on the ground that the software was installed at the request of three wireless carriers -- all of whom required consumers to agree to take disputes to an arbitrator.
Chen rejected that argument in March, ruling that the arbitration agreements were between the consumers and carriers -- not between consumers and either Carrier IQ or manufacturers."
This from the CarrierIQ privacy link:
Consumer Transparency
"At Carrier iQ, we believe strongly that all consumers deserve a transparent view and solid understanding of the services that enable their mobile devices. We partner with our enterprise customers to achieve appropriate transparency so that their privacy policies and user terms of service appropriately describe the diagnostics and analytics data solutions achieved through our service.We have built a variety of consumer consent features to enable our customers to easily incorporate our solutions into their respective privacy notices and programs. We respect our customers' differing compliance and policy requirements related to consumer consent, and have created a menu of features to help promote and implement appropriate consumer consent needs."
Perhaps one of the consumer consent choices is waterboarding?
CarrierIQ is big on data protection and privacy. This from the same link as above:
"Carrier iQ employs a variety of technical, procedural, and physical controls to deliver our analytics solutions in a secure and privacy-protective manner. The diagnostics data gathered by the iQ App are maintained in a protected location on the mobile device in a form that cannot be read without specifically designed tools and never in a human readable format. At predetermined intervals, the device will request a secure encrypted channel to an authenticated network server, whereby the data is transmitted through this encrypted channel to our state-of-the-art server environment. Moreover, additional protections are employed, such as data minimization, data redaction, or obfuscation."
Ya don't need to worry......Its all encrypted so nobody is the wiser. Ya ain't gonna get caught.
| Spied-On Cell Phone Customers Can’t be Forced into Arbitration Says California Federal Judge |
Oopps! Caught in the act and you will get your day in court! No avoiding, no evading, no going to your friends the Arbitrators.
Above the Law A good read. From 2011. This is a slow moving issue. Not because of its importance?
This is the story of the Snowden of the cell phone commercial spy world that appeared at Wired in November of 2011. Old news but nothing seems to have changed in CarrierIQ business? ---- yet.
Trustgo CarrierIQ detector at this link. Business opportunity spin off of CarrierIQ business. Is this a counter espionage business model? Does this infringe on CarrierIQ rights?
These are CarrierIQ patent applications and revealing explanations of the patents.
This is a more detailed explanation of the most recent patent.
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