Programmer Raises Concerns About Phone-Monitoring Software. 7:18 p.m. | Updated Adding comment from Apple. 8:00 p.m. | Updated Adding new comment from Carrier IQ. 10:42 p.m. | Updated Adding analysis from security experts.
A viral Internet video has raised privacy concerns about an obscure piece of data-collection software that is embedded in millions of cellphones. In his video, Trevor Eckhart, a 25-year-old programmer, indicates that a software utility called Carrier IQ may be quietly logging much of a phone user’s activity, including keystrokes, numbers dialed, encrypted Web searches and the contents of text messages. “Every button that you press in the dialer, before you even call, already gets sent off to the IQ application here,” Mr. The video has reopened a discussion of whether phone companies and their partners are collecting more data about customers than necessary to provide their services. When Mr. Mr. So far there has apparently been no independent confirmation of Mr. To conduct his research, Mr. Somini Sengupta contributed reporting. Carrier IQ, Mobile Services Grilled over Spyware Charges.
Carrier IQ, the mobile diagnostic company recently accused of installing rootkits on more than 140 million devices worldwide, says it's using its software for good, not evil.
But some critics suggest CIQ's software may violate federal wiretap laws, a charge CIQ vehemently denies. Meanwhile, the mobile industry including device makers and carriers are trying to put as much distance as possible between their products and Carrier IQ. Congress is also getting on in the action with Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) demanding that CIQ explain its business practices within the next 12 days. How We Got Here In mid-November, security researcher Trevor Eckhart published a report accusing CIQ of installing malware on more than 140 million devices worldwide.
Carrier IQ said its software is merely a diagnostic tool to improve service quality. Carrier IQ: We Obey the Carriers Carrier IQ released a statement late Thursday to clarify what the company does. Nope, Not Us. Hagens Berman Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Carrier IQ Claiming Company Violated Wiretap... SEATTLE, Dec. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of consumers filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit claiming that smartphone manufacturers HTC Corporation (TWSE: 2498), HTC America, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
(KSE: 005930.KS) use software developed by Carrier IQ, Inc. ("CIQ") that illegally intercepts incoming text messages and captures users' key strokes—including those used to compose email and text messages or to dial numbers—without consumers' knowledge or permission. In mid-November, software developer Trevor Eckhart published a video blog illustrating the operation of the CIQ software recording keystrokes, including information sent to secure websites using HTTPS security protocols used in e-commerce and other security-sensitive sites. After Eckhart published his discovery and documents he found on CIQ's website, CIQ accused him of copyright violations and threatened legal actions unless he capitulated to the company's demands.
The suit, filed in the U.S. RELATED LINKS.