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ISIS Has a Smartphone App

fortune.com

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Re: ISIS Has a Smartphone App

#31

Post by christianmann »

mathgeek wrote: post #4

> Apple and Google could easily kick apps used to organize violence out of their official app stores. But would they be willing to build further barriers to usage directly into their mobile operating systems? This is a silly question for the Android side (and possibly the iOS side as well). That would be a monumental effort that would seem easily thwarted by simply installing your own version of the OS.

> and possibly the iOS side as well

This is exactly what jailbreaking fixes. By default, iOS does not allow you to install apps that are not published in the App Store.

Re: ISIS Has a Smartphone App

#32

Post by christianmann »

> It can even be automatically updated whenever the app’s developers send out new versions of the program.

This is another potential vulnerability. If the app does not check a good signature, then it may be vulnerable to malicious update delivery.

Re: ISIS Has a Smartphone App

#33

Post by colechristensen »

golergka wrote: post #19
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #9

Alrawi can’t be downloaded from Google Play. Instead it must be installed from shady back alleys of the Internet. Well, there's your obvious solution. Get a copy of the APK, wrap it with some spyware, then propagate the bugged version. If ISIS won't host the source or can't provide an "official" outlet to grab it, you've got no way of knowing whether your version is legit or not. Who'd have thought the paradigms of s…

But that's government surveillance, and HN comments are supposed to say that it's always bad and much worse than ISIS, right?

I don't and most people don't have a problem with signals intelligence. I do have a problem with the tools used, how they're used, and who they're used against.

Mainly, a dragnet gathering intelligence on the entire citizen population is scary and terrible. Sigint targeting pseudo-state terrorists? Who has a problem with that?

Re: ISIS Has a Smartphone App

#34

Post by eva1984 »

gkoberger wrote: post #27
golergka wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's government surveillance, and HN comments are supposed to say that it's always bad and much worse than ISIS, right?

Nobody is against using technology against known foreign terrorists. We're against mass surveillance against our own people.

Well sometimes you cannot tell...

Re: ISIS Has a Smartphone App

#36

Post by bad_user »

eva1984 wrote: post #34
gkoberger wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody is against using technology against known foreign terrorists. We're against mass surveillance against our own people.

Well sometimes you cannot tell...

Since when it's better to assume that everybody is guilty?

Re: ISIS Has a Smartphone App

#37

Post by gkoberger »

eva1984 wrote: post #34
gkoberger wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody is against using technology against known foreign terrorists. We're against mass surveillance against our own people.

Well sometimes you cannot tell...

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Re: ISIS Has a Smartphone App

#38

Post by pen2l »

soheil wrote: post #18
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #9

Alrawi can’t be downloaded from Google Play. Instead it must be installed from shady back alleys of the Internet. Well, there's your obvious solution. Get a copy of the APK, wrap it with some spyware, then propagate the bugged version. If ISIS won't host the source or can't provide an "official" outlet to grab it, you've got no way of knowing whether your version is legit or not. Who'd have thought the paradigms of s…

I'd doubt users of an encryption app not using a simple checksum to verify its legitimacy before using it.

Probably not true. E.g., do you think the average user of Tor takes this precaution? Thinking back to the times I have downloaded Tor, I never did that.

It reminds me of a time when I wanted to get in touch with an HN user... they had their pgp key in their user page... I tried sending the email but it didn't work (formatting issues). Finally I reached this user and asked what was up with it... and he responded by saying, "Oh, noone in the past 10 years has made use of this!" And this is a pretty smart security guy.

I think there are very, very few people who actually take the trouble of verifying checksums and everything. I used to do it /sometimes/ years ago, but it gets to be a hassle pretty quickly and you start taking shortcuts everywhere. A lot of us sort of plan to start doing it, but never actually do it. Kind of like exercising or eating healthy or whatever. :)

Anyway, as for this news about ISIS having their own encrypted chat app - I'm happy to hear it. If they made it on their own, it's bound to have a good dozen holes that NSA will have no trouble poking through. :)

Re: ISIS Has a Smartphone App

#39

Post by the8472 »

eva1984 wrote: post #34
gkoberger wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody is against using technology against known foreign terrorists. We're against mass surveillance against our own people.

Well sometimes you cannot tell...

So if it were bombs instead of surveillance you would bomb the target when you're uncertain about its enemy status?

And since we're talking about mass surveillance... I guess carpet bombing?

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