Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The protester's guide to smartphone security

privacyguides.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 246 posts

Re: The protester's guide to smartphone security

#21

Post by diggan »

morkalork wrote: post #9
diggan wrote: post #3

If you're attending a large-scale protest, it's likely that the cell-towers (or stingrays) won't be able to handle everyone who is connected anyways, so worth planning to use apps that can chat over P2P WiFi or Bluetooth together with the rest of your friends. This also allows you to continue using Airplane Mode the entire time, while being able to communicate with people nearby. Alternatively, investing in walkie-ta…

How safe is Bluetooth really? Cities has scanners used to track devices for monitoring road congestion, malls have scanners to measure foot traffic. I have to believe that anyone with access to stingray type of device can track Bluetooth as well.

Usually, protests are located in one somewhat easily defined area, until you cannot be there anymore or the goal has moved somewhere else. So then you need to get to another spot, this is the moment you disconnect your battery until you've arrived at the other place.

So yeah, they'd be able to say that "person A was at location B and later C", but not necessarily the way there or after/before those specific locations.

I agree that the safest is to assume they can definitely track you no matter what protocol/antenna you use, so you have to chose what moment it's OK to be tracked (like large groups).

Re: The protester's guide to smartphone security

#22

Post by dinosaurdynasty »

Cpoll wrote: post #18
theoreticalmal wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does this mean? What does the zapping accomplish?

I'm guessing in this context it means drain the battery. I haven't heard of this technique, but it seems plausible, by tricking the phone into constantly transmitting over WiFi or cell.

I wonder how useful purism phones are for this (all external communication, including GPS, has hardware shutoffs).

They are expensive though...

Re: The protester's guide to smartphone security

#23

Post by nxobject »

jMyles wrote: post #20
tehjoker wrote: post #12

If you're this worried, don't bring your phone lol. If you need to take pictures (and don't take identifiable pics of people without consent), just bring a camera. Otoh, the main function of protests is to get media attention, so if they don't get publicized there was basically no point unless they evolve into direct action. If you're interested in this second point, read https://www.amazon.com/If-We-Burn-Protest-Rev…

> don't take identifiable pics of people without consent Hard disagree. Public events are public events. My conclusion, based on experience at street protests, historic trends, and current political events, is that there have been significant actions by provocateurs over the past decade or more, and particularly in Portland in 2020. Taking and posting pictures of these people is an important act. It the internet age…

As another Portlander, disagree with exceptions: surveillance footage made it harder to identify people from top down angles, and it meant that a lot of people had their charges dismissed because of that. (I will need to look it up.) The bigger risk to a protest movement, I would argue, is an opposing agent provocateurs trying to get people doxxed. That risk to more people outweighs getting minority of provocateurs shut down.

(On the other hand, you’re also right that agent provocateurs are old COINTELPRO-era tactics used by the state and right wingers against protest movements.)

When it comes to tactics to keep yourself safe when protesting, there aren’t ultimately too many hard beliefs to be had, especially when the right are perfectly happy to collaborate with the state.

Re: The protester's guide to smartphone security

#24

Post by dghlsakjg »

tehjoker wrote: post #13
diggan wrote: post #3

If you're attending a large-scale protest, it's likely that the cell-towers (or stingrays) won't be able to handle everyone who is connected anyways, so worth planning to use apps that can chat over P2P WiFi or Bluetooth together with the rest of your friends. This also allows you to continue using Airplane Mode the entire time, while being able to communicate with people nearby. Alternatively, investing in walkie-ta…

The battery thing can be important. One strategy law enforcement uses is to force your phone into a high energy state and zap the battery very quickly.

How do you force a phone into using more battery through external means?

Re: The protester's guide to smartphone security

#25

Post by [deleted] »

tehjoker wrote: post #13
diggan wrote: post #3

If you're attending a large-scale protest, it's likely that the cell-towers (or stingrays) won't be able to handle everyone who is connected anyways, so worth planning to use apps that can chat over P2P WiFi or Bluetooth together with the rest of your friends. This also allows you to continue using Airplane Mode the entire time, while being able to communicate with people nearby. Alternatively, investing in walkie-ta…

The battery thing can be important. One strategy law enforcement uses is to force your phone into a high energy state and zap the battery very quickly.

[deleted]

Re: The protester's guide to smartphone security

#26

Post by nxobject »

Re: iPhones - these suggestions are really good, AND it shows how hard it is to keep track of the attack surface of all of modern iOS features. I wish Lockdown Mode also set these hardening features on: it seems useless to harden your phone against spyware if you can still be surveilled in other ways.

Re: The protester's guide to smartphone security

#27

Post by upofadown »

Briar messenger is specifically designed for things like protests. I think I would prefer it over Signal. The article says:

>Signal has responded to 6 government requests since 2016, and in each case the only information they were able to provide was at most: ...

That is the all the information they claimed they had. We have no way to know what they actually collect. Briar runs P2P over Tor so they can't collect data, even if they should want to.

Whatever is used, an article like this should remind the potential protester to turn on disappearing messages with an appropriately short interval. The powers that be might use something like a Cellebrite box to get all your old messages by cracking the phone security.

Re: The protester's guide to smartphone security

#29

Post by kevindamm »

theoreticalmal wrote: post #17
tomphoolery wrote: post #11

> However, in this situation it may make more sense to disable biometric authentication. In Face ID, there's a setting that requires direct eye contact in order to open your phone. Highly recommend enabling this when feeling insecure about someone forcing you to open your phone (if it's not already on by default) because it means somebody forcing you to open your phone with Face ID can be easily defeated by simply cl…

While this is good info, it should also be known that in the USA, a judge (maybe and police officer?) can legally command you to unlock your phone via biometrics, but they cannot legally command you to unlock via password or passphrase. “Legally command” = command you to do something with the force of law, and legally punish you if you resist

The reasoning behind this is that your fingerprints and face etc. are public knowledge. Whereas you can retain your right to remain silent (about your password/PIN), failing to provide these aspects of your person can be viewed as not cooperating.

Re: The protester's guide to smartphone security

#30

Post by fph »

upofadown wrote: post #27

Briar messenger is specifically designed for things like protests. I think I would prefer it over Signal. The article says: >Signal has responded to 6 government requests since 2016, and in each case the only information they were able to provide was at most: ... That is the all the information they claimed they had. We have no way to know what they actually collect. Briar runs P2P over Tor so they can't collect data…

Signal is open source and ships with verified builds, so yes, we have a way to know what they actually collect.
Post reply on HN