This is apparently with the approval of a judge (though that's not always meaningful), when targeting crimes that would lead to 10 years imprisonment at least.
The easiest thing to be called nowadays is being a "terrorist", coming just after "nazi"
France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
111–120 of 123 posts
Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
#112Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
#113There'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.
The camera I don't worry about so much. A 1 cent piece of duct tape is enough to deal with that. As I've done on laptops for years until manufacturers started listening and making sliders. A microphone is much, much harder to block. It will hear through tape just fine. For a normal user who just wants privacy and doesn't want to pry open an expensive waterproof phone, what recourse do I have?
There are those cheapo dummy plugs that present as a microphone when inserted into the 3.5mm slot, which mutes the main mic. Of course, this strikes me as a software behavior that could be overridden.
Other than that I think the pinephone and librem5 are the only phones I'm aware of that actually have hardware microphone switches.
Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
The privacy indicator on iPhones is just a green dot on the display. I don't think that's really possible to link to the same power supply. It'd have to be a separate light like on MacBooks. (Thankfully MacBooks do at least physically disconnect the microphones if you close the lid.)
> (Thankfully MacBooks do at least physically disconnect the microphones if you close the lid.)
What is the mechanism for this? It seems like this would be a software system.
Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
The privacy indicator on iPhones is just a green dot on the display. I don't think that's really possible to link to the same power supply. It'd have to be a separate light like on MacBooks. (Thankfully MacBooks do at least physically disconnect the microphones if you close the lid.)
> (Thankfully MacBooks do at least physically disconnect the microphones if you close the lid.) What is the mechanism for this? It seems like this would be a software system.
Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
#116Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which come with microphones too. Is S30+ or KaiOS (previously FirefoxOS) which Nokia uses really that much more secure? Also, usability becomes a thing here. Most people don't even use their phone for calls anymore. Not being able to do the other stuff defeats the purpose.
But no apps or dodgy email links you can hack them with, perhaps? No idea The most basic phones don't have KaiOS. There are / have been hacks using SMS that didn't even require the user to do anything, but then again they required Android iOS to carry out the hack. The smaller the attack surface the better (for the criminal). > Also, usability becomes a thing here. Most people don't even use their phone for calls any…
Even SIM cards have been hacked remotely:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/01/sim-card-...
So, "simple is safe" is just not really a thing. SafER perhaps, but also so much less useful that it defeats the purpose of using one IMO.
I think it would be better to use a secure android ROM. Like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS.
Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
The camera I don't worry about so much. A 1 cent piece of duct tape is enough to deal with that. As I've done on laptops for years until manufacturers started listening and making sliders. A microphone is much, much harder to block. It will hear through tape just fine. For a normal user who just wants privacy and doesn't want to pry open an expensive waterproof phone, what recourse do I have?
There are those cheapo dummy plugs that present as a microphone when inserted into the 3.5mm slot, which mutes the main mic. Of course, this strikes me as a software behavior that could be overridden. Other than that I think the pinephone and librem5 are the only phones I'm aware of that actually have hardware microphone switches.
It is software behaviour in 95% of cases yes. At least on Android. iOS I don't know.
The Librem is ancient hardware for a top tier price and has a 20 week delivery time. The pinephone... Well yeah it's usable though the switches are under the back panel and can't be moved by hand, you need a pen, tweezer or toothpick or something as far as I've heard.
Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
People online assume too much with the french pension reform Government reports forecasted a possible deficit that was in the ranges of €10bn in 10+ years, which is tiny, along with other predictions that put it lower and even predicted profits. Uncertainty's equal across any of them Many alternatives were brought up by either the opposition and various economists; reducing pensions, increasing dues, pointing out new…
You are right that I'm not French, I'm Swiss and we have 5 years longer until pension. I would love to have solutions which can keep it as low as in France, but I must wonder, how come no other country in the world (except Greece, which defaulted) was able to apply them already? I'll take only one idea from above: I imagine the same people would go on the same streets if their pensions would be reduced, and by the wa…
> You are right that I'm not French, I'm Swiss and we have 5 years longer until pension. I would love to have solutions which can keep it as low as in France, but I must wonder, how come no other country in the world (except Greece, which defaulted) was able to apply them already?
You can check the government report on which everything in this pension reform is based on
https://www.lexpress.fr/economie/retraites-ce-qu-il-faut-ret...
Article fails to mention covid killing off a bunch of old people but the timing of that helped too.
We don't do capitalized pensions aka "putting money aside" and we don't want to. We pay for the currently retired with the dues of those currently working in real time
Some of the same people would show up in the streets for reduced pensions or increased dues if it came down to a deficit (which isn't the case right now), but nothing like May
Re: France legalizes remote camera and microphone activation in smartphones
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are right that I'm not French, I'm Swiss and we have 5 years longer until pension. I would love to have solutions which can keep it as low as in France, but I must wonder, how come no other country in the world (except Greece, which defaulted) was able to apply them already? I'll take only one idea from above: I imagine the same people would go on the same streets if their pensions would be reduced, and by the wa…
> You are right that I'm not French, I'm Swiss and we have 5 years longer until pension. I would love to have solutions which can keep it as low as in France, but I must wonder, how come no other country in the world (except Greece, which defaulted) was able to apply them already? You can check the government report on which everything in this pension reform is based on https://www.lexpress.fr/economie/retraites-ce-q…
Well then the solution was right there and you say people would go on the streets just as well. A complex but working system of three pillars of pensions vs depending completely on the state with one single pillar, that's the difference between pragmatism and magical thinking.