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France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

francetvinfo.fr

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Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

#51

Post by pmontra »

y-curious wrote: post #12

There's a reason criminal rings buy crime-suited phones. Buying a cheapo android with the camera removed/disconnected is going to increase in Europe. Once again, I doubt this security measure will make anyone truly safer.

Opening a phone and removing front and rear cameras is easy. I did it when I replaced my broken ones. Plenty of videos on YouTube for any model. Removing the mic means listen-only phone calls, which arguably could be a feature in some businesses. Both are not for the general population. Maybe they'll sell some extra camera covers.

Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

#52

Post by donkeyd »

kwyjibo_hunter wrote: post #44
donkeyd wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they won't. Also, define criminals. Plenty of crimes are done by people who are not professional criminals who spend money and time on opsec.

We’re talking classic bandits that wear eye masks and striped shirts. REAL professionals who’ll stuff all their treasures into a big burlap sack with a dollar sign on it.

I doubt those use smart phones.

Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

#53

Post by impyamin »

concinds wrote: post #50
xen2xen1 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Delinquency? As in schoolchildren? Or is that a translation thing?

I checked a translation dictonary. Apparently it means crimes in general. I found a French government website that defines it as all crimes[0]. In their annual crime statistics they use it to refer to violence, thefts, robberies, property damage, scams, and drug use[1]. [0]: https://www.cipdr.gouv.fr/prevenir-la-delinquance/ [1]: https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/actualites/communiques/insecur...

yes it is a general term used to designate petty crime

Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

#54

Post by sgt »

unsupp0rted wrote: post #32
ZoF wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, yes delinquency, there's that umbrella term we were looking for.

Among the delinquent, it's only reserved for the subset who are problematic.

Let's start off with sensible defaults to define that subset. Can 100% work?

Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

#55

Post by RobotToaster »

tpxl wrote: post #17
kenniskrag wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently saw a green dot on the right corner during camera usage on android. Probably a (new) feature of android.

Unless the light is physically connected to the power line of the camera sensor (and most aren't), it's useless as an indicator of covert camera usage - the spyware can just not turn it on.

What's infuriating is that it would be trivial to make it linked to the same power supply in hardware. It's obviously done that way on purpose.

Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

#56

Post by wkat4242 »

DirectorKrennic wrote: post #36
xen2xen1 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Delinquency? As in schoolchildren? Or is that a translation thing?

Delinquency is probably translated from délinquance , which is generally understood to mean thuggery/small crimes.

So to use these serious spy powers all they need is suspicion of pickpocketing? :O

Or am I oversimplifying. Please say so.

Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

#58

Post by smeej »

tpxl wrote: post #17
kenniskrag wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently saw a green dot on the right corner during camera usage on android. Probably a (new) feature of android.

Unless the light is physically connected to the power line of the camera sensor (and most aren't), it's useless as an indicator of covert camera usage - the spyware can just not turn it on.

Not on Android devices, but wasn't this what Apple said they did for Macbooks? That the light indicates power is going to the camera, and cannot be bypassed?

Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

#59

Post by alex14fr »

pmontra wrote: post #51
y-curious wrote: post #12

There's a reason criminal rings buy crime-suited phones. Buying a cheapo android with the camera removed/disconnected is going to increase in Europe. Once again, I doubt this security measure will make anyone truly safer.

Opening a phone and removing front and rear cameras is easy. I did it when I replaced my broken ones. Plenty of videos on YouTube for any model. Removing the mic means listen-only phone calls, which arguably could be a feature in some businesses. Both are not for the general population. Maybe they'll sell some extra camera covers.

I guess one answer could be to add a physical switch to disconnect microphone, or use a removable microphone.

Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones

#60

Post by wkat4242 »

soco wrote: post #35
rjzzleep wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Parliament certainly didn't stop Macron from pushing threw the pension reform against the will of virtually everyone. It's a pity that most of the media doesn't cover the legitimate concerns of the french population.

The french population is indeed concerned by the increasing of the pension age, but not concerned at all with the price paid by their own children for not increasing it. So I wouldn't call the concerns of the population necessarily legitimate, as present and pressing as they might be.

But if the public is ok with paying this despite the increasing cost, why block them?

France has some of the best welfare in the world and from what I hear from my French friends they're not opposed to paying for it, unlike more neoliberal countries where tax is a swear word.

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