Tag: smartphones

How Much of Trump’s ‘Built in America’ Phone Is Actually Built in America?

The Trump Organization unveiled Trump Mobile, “a next-generation wireless provider with bold ambitions and a customer-first mission,” on Monday. The organization also teased the T1 Phone—which is slated for an August release and available for preorder—as a “gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States.” The origins of the phone seem to be more of an aspiration than a reality.

Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that “eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America” (emphasis added), per The Wall Street Journal. Given the phone’s hardware and $499 price, the Journal determined that the phones will likely be imported from China because “only Chinese makers like Xiaomi and Oppo have hardware to match.” (President Donald Trump threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on foreign-made phones just last month.)

Max Weinbach, an analyst at market research firm Creative Strategies, also believes that the T1 Phones are Chinese in origin. Based on its hardware, Weinbach says the T1 Phone is a custom variant of the Wingtech REVVL 7 Pro 5G (the T-Mobile version retails for about $170). Wingtech itself is a Chinese semiconductor designer and manufacturer partially owned by the Chinese Communist Party that is listed in the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List, which “identifies persons or addresses of persons reasonably believed to be involved…in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”

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Is This Stunning Censorship A Glimpse Into Our Own Future?

The BBC has reported on smartphones smuggled out of North Korea that are setup to spy on citizens and prevent them from using language that is not authorised by the Communist state.

Instead of simply not allowing North Korean people to have such devices, the regime there has decided to manufacture and distribute phones as a tool for further controlling the population amid fears that freedom, in the form of South Korean culture, is encroaching.

The BBC reporter demonstrates how the phone edits words and phrases that are are not acceptable to the North Korean government, and replaces them with language they have sanctioned.

In one example, the reporter types in a South Korean slang word for “boyfriend” and the phone changes it to “comrade.”

A second example shows the reporter typing in ‘South Korea’ and the phone automatically changing it to “Puppet State.”

The phone also covertly takes a screenshot every five minutes, stores the images in a secret folder which the user cannot access, but North Korean authorities can scour through should they wish to do so.

The report also notes that the North Korean Communists have deployed “youth crackdown squads” to patrol the streets listening out for people using South Korean slang or styles of language.

Wild stuff.

“Smartphones are now part and parcel of the way North Korea tries to indoctrinate people,” Martyn Williams, a senior fellow at the Washington DC-based Stimson Center, and an expert in North Korean technology and information, told the BBC.

Williams further noted that North Korea is now “starting to gain the upper hand” in the information war.

Some online pointed out that its ironic that the state funded BBC filed this report, given that people in the UK are being imprisoned over social media posts.

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Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure on cancer in laboratory animal studies, a systematic review

More than ten years ago, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published a monograph concluding there was limited evidence in experimental animals for carcinogenicity of Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (RF EMF).

Objective

The objective of this review was to systematically evaluate the effects of RF EMF exposure on cancer in experimental animals.

Methods

Eligibility criteria: Based on pre-established Populations, Exposures, Comparators, Outcomes, and Study Type (PECOS) criteria, studies in experimental animals of the following study types were included: chronic cancer bioassays, initiation-(co–)promotion studies, and studies with tumor-prone animals.

Information sources: MEDLINE (PubMed), Science Citation Index Expanded and Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science), and the EMF Portal.

Data abstraction and synthesis: Data are publicly available online as interactive visuals with downloadable metadata. We adapted the risk-of-bias (RoB) tool developed by Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) to include considerations pertinent to the evaluation of RF EMF exposure and cancer bioassays. Study sensitivity was assessed with a tool adopted from the Report on Carcinogens (RoC). We synthesized studies using a narrative approach. Effect size was calculated as the 1% Bayesian Average benchmark dose (BMD) of a respective study when dose–response or a trend was identified (see BMDAnalysisSupplementaryMaterial) (Supplement 1).

Evidence Assessment: Certainty of the evidence (CoE) was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Developing and Evaluations (GRADE) approach, as refined by OHAT. Evidence from chronic cancer bioassays was considered the most directly applicable to evaluation of carcinogenicity.

Results

We included 52 studies with 20 chronic bioassays No studies were excluded based on risk of bias concerns. Studies were not considered suitable for meta-analysis due to heterogeneity in study design, species, strain, sex, exposure characteristics, and cancer outcome. No or minimal evidence of RF EMF exposure-related cancer outcomes was found in most systems or organs in any study (these included gastrointestinal/digestive, kidney, mammary gland, urinary, endocrine, musculoskeletal, reproductive, and auditory).

For lymphoma (18 studies), with 6 chronic bioassays (1,120 mice, 1,780 rats) inconsistency between two chronic bioassays was not plausibly explainable, and the CoE for lymphoma was rated ‘moderate’.

For brain tumors (20 studies), including 5 chronic bioassays (1,902 mice, 6,011 rats), an increase in glial cell-derived neoplasms was reported in two chronic bioassays in male rats. The CoE for an increased risk in glioma was judged as high. The BMD analysis was statistically significant for only one study and the BMD was 4.25 (95% CI 2.70, 10.24).

For neoplasms of the heart (4 chronic bioassays with 6 experiments), 3 studies were performed in rats (∼2,165 animals), and 1 in mice (∼720 animals). Based on 2 bioassays, statistically significant increases in malignant schwannomas was judged as high CoE for an increase in heart schwannomas in male rats. The BMDs from the two positive studies were 1.92 (95 %CI 0.71, 4.15) and 0.177 (95 %CI 0.125, 0.241), respectively.

Twelve studies reported neoplasms in the adrenal gland (5 chronic bioassays). The CoE for an increased risk in pheochromocytoma was judged as moderate. None of these findings were dose-dependent when compared to the sham controls.

Sixteen studies investigated tumors of the liver with 5 of these being chronic bioassays. The CoE was evaluated as moderate for hepatoblastomas.

For neoplasms of the lung (3 chronic bioassays), 8 studies were conducted in rats (∼1,296 animals) and 23 studies in mice (∼2,800 animals). In one chronic bioassay, a statistically significant positive trend was reported for bronchoalveolar adenoma or carcinoma (combined), which was rated as moderate CoE for an increase in lung neoplasms with some evidence from 2 initiation-(co–)promotion studies.

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iPhone Now Collects Your Mental Health Data

True Story: The Health app built into iPhones is now collecting as much personal information on the mental health of each and every one of us as they can get a hold of.

Yet, a search on Google and Brave yielded no results on the dangers of sharing such information over the phone or the internet. Seriously, no single MSM has done an article on why such data sharing might be a bad idea?

To start, in sharing such data, you aren’t just sharing your information; iPhone knows exactly who your family members are. In many cases, those phones are connected via family plans.

iPhone mental health assessments not only ask questions about your mental health but can also infer the mental health status of family members, as demonstrated by the image publicly shared by phone on the benefits of a phone mental health assessment.

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CIA Targeting Smartphone App Data

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines, who oversees 18 separate agencies comprising the wider “intelligence community” – including the CIA, FBI, and NSA – has released a “policy framework for commercially available information.” It is not only the very first public confirmation by a US government official that Stateside spying entities acquire extensive data on private citizens from third party brokers, but admission this yield is deeply sensitive. While purportedly setting limits on the use of this information by spooks, the details are vague or non-existent.

“Commercially available information” (CAI) refers to data collected on individuals, typically by their smartphones, and the apps they use, sold by third parties. Via various sleights of hand and ruthless exploitation of regulatory loopholes, US intelligence obtained information not accessible by average citizens, which would typically require a court-approved search warrant to access. Yet, by purchasing this data from private brokers, spying agencies can still claim this snooping is “open source”, based on “publicly available” records.

A particularly rich source of CAI is data hoovered from digital advertising. In-app and website adspace is sold on real-time bidding (RTB) exchanges, and location and other user data is often included as a bonus, to ensure optimal ad targeting. Many data brokers pose as advertisers in order to “scrape” the listings for user information, before selling it on for profit. The value of this data, and the malign purposes to which it can be put, are vast.

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Cellphone Radiation Research Was Halted After Worrisome Findings, Expert Questions Why

Decades of animal research point to serious health risks from cellphone radiation exposure, but examining a possible link stops now.

The National Toxicology Program (NTP), tasked with studying potential toxins, recently announced it would no longer investigate evidence that cellphone radiation can harm animals or people. The move stunned scientists like Devra Davis, a former senior adviser to the assistant secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, who called the abrupt reversal scientifically unjustified.

There’s “no scientific explanation or justification for this sudden reversal,” Ms. Davis told The Epoch Times.

Unpublished NTP Research Undermines Decision to Halt Cellphone Radiation Studies

The NTP recently claimed that additional radiofrequency radiation (RFR) studies are not planned, stating the research was “technically challenging and more resource-intensive than expected.”

Ms. Davis criticized this decision, noting that technical challenges are not a reason to avoid studying something that appears to cause cancer in animals. “Everything that we know for sure causes cancer in people will produce it in animals when adequately studied,” she added.

Despite admitting to developing a novel small-scale RFR exposure system in 2019 to clarify earlier findings, the NTP canceled further investigations. This system only studied older 2G and 3G devices, not newer 4G or 5G technologies.

Ms. Davis, a former NTP advisor, said she helped recommend smaller test chambers. The agency takes years to plan studies, so scrapping this project is “beyond my comprehension at this point,” given millions of children’s daily exposure, she noted.

In an emailed statement, the NTP confirmed that although work on the small-scale exposure system and accompanying research has been completed, the results will be publicly available and posted on the agency’s webpage only “when internal reviews are finished.” As of this writing, the 2019 research remains unpublished.

Court Finds FCC Illegally Ignored 5G Health Risks

The NTP published results in 2018 from two-year toxicology studies showing “clear evidence” of associations between 2G/3G cellphone radiation and tumors in male rats. Follow-up research in 2019 revealed DNA damage in the brains, livers, and blood cells of exposed rats and mice.

Despite originally requesting and overseeing these studies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has since dismissed the NTP’s findings, Ms. Davis said.

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Your fingerprints can be recreated from the sounds made when you swipe on a touchscreen — Chinese and US researchers show new side channel can reproduce fingerprints to enable attacks

An interesting new attack on biometric security has been outlined by a group of researchers from China and the US. PrintListener: Uncovering the Vulnerability of Fingerprint Authentication via the Finger Friction Sound [PDF] proposes a side-channel attack on the sophisticated Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). The attack leverages the sound characteristics of a user’s finger swiping on a touchscreen to extract fingerprint pattern features. Following tests, the researchers assert that they can successfully attack “up to 27.9% of partial fingerprints and 9.3% of complete fingerprints within five attempts at the highest security FAR [False Acceptance Rate] setting of 0.01%.” This is claimed to be the first work that leverages swiping sounds to infer fingerprint information.

Biometric fingerprint security is widespread and widely trusted. If things continue as they are, it is thought that the fingerprint authentication market will be worth nearly $100 billion by 2032. However, organizations and people have become increasingly aware that attackers might want to steal their fingerprints, so some have started to be careful about keeping their fingerprints out of sight, and become sensitive to photos showing their hand details.

Without contact prints or finger detail photos, how can an attacker hope to get any fingerprint data to enhance MasterPrint and DeepMasterPrint dictionary attack results on user fingerprints? One answer is as follows: the PrintListener paper says that “finger-swiping friction sounds can be captured by attackers online with a high possibility.” The source of the finger-swiping sounds can be popular apps like Discord, Skype, WeChat, FaceTime, etc. Any chatty app where users carelessly perform swiping actions on the screen while the device mic is live. Hence the side-channel attack name – PrintListener.

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Apple Tells Support Staff To Remain Silent On iPhone Radiation Concern

Apple plans to issue an over-the-air update in the coming days for iPhone 12 users in France after regulators ordered a halt in sales over concerns the device emits too much radiation. 

“We will issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the protocol used by French regulators,” Apple told Reuters in a statement. 

The company continued, “We look forward to iPhone 12 continuing to be available in France.”

Earlier this week, French regulators ordered a ban on iPhone 12 sales after a Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) test – how much radio frequency is absorbed into a body from a device – exceeded European radiation exposure limits. 

Besides the iPhone 12’s radiation levels, another controversy is brewing as Bloomberg said Apple instructed employees to stay ‘mum’ when customers ask about the radiation issue: 

If customers inquire about the French government’s claim that the model exceeds standards for electromagnetic radiation, workers should say they don’t have anything to share, Apple employees have been told. Staff should also reject customers’ requests to return or exchange the phone unless it was purchased in the past two weeks — Apple’s normal return policy.

Customers asking if the phone is safe should be told that all Apple products go through rigorous testing to ensure that they’re safe, according to the guidance.

Apple dismissed the radiation claims, indicating “this is related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern” for customers. “The ANFR [French regulator] is preparing to quickly test this update,” Noel Barrot, France’s digital affairs minister, told Reuters. 

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France Demands Apple Take iPhone 12 Off Market Immediately as it Emits Too Much Radiation

French regulators ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 12, saying it emits electromagnetic radiation levels that are above European Union standards for exposure. The company disputed the findings and said the device complies with regulations.

The French government agency that manages wireless communications frequencies issued the order after the iPhone 12 recently failed one of two types of tests for electromagnetic waves capable of being absorbed by the body.

It’s unclear why the phone, which was released in late 2020, didn’t pass the agency’s latest round of tests and why it was only that particular model.

France’s digital minister said the iPhone 12’s radiation levels are still much lower than levels that scientific studies consider could harm users, and the agency itself acknowledges that its tests don’t reflect typical phone use.

The National Frequency Agency on Tuesday called on Apple to “implement all available means to rapidly fix this malfunction” for phones already in use and said it would monitor device updates. If they don’t work, “Apple will have to recall” phones that have already been sold, it said.

The agency recently tested 141 cellphones and found that when the iPhone 12 is held in a hand or carried in a pocket, its level of electromagnetic energy absorption is 5.74 watts per kilogram, higher than the EU standard of 4 watts per kilogram.

The phone passed a separate test of radiation levels for devices kept in a jacket or in a bag, the agency said.

Radiation limits are set “well below the level at which harm will occur,” and therefore a small increase above the threshold “is unlikely to be of any health consequence,” said Malcolm Sperrin, director of medical physics at the U.K.’s Royal Berkshire hospital group.

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Thousands of Russian officials to give up iPhones over US spying fears

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Russian authorities have banned thousands of officials and state employees from using iPhones and other Apple products as a crackdown against the American tech company intensifies over espionage concerns.  The trade ministry said that from Monday it will ban all use of iPhones for “work purposes”. The digital development ministry as well as Rostec, the state-owned company that is under sanction by the west for supplying Russia’s war machine in Ukraine, have said they will follow suit or have already introduced bans. The ban on iPhones, iPad tablets and other Apple devices at leading ministries and institutions reflects growing concern in the Kremlin and the Federal Security Service spy agency over a surge in espionage activity by US intelligence agencies against Russian state institutions. “Security officials in ministries — these are FSB employees who hold civilian positions such as deputy ministers — announced that iPhones were no longer considered safe and that alternatives should be sought,” said a person close to a government agency that has banned Apple products. A month after President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, he signed a decree demanding that organisations involved in “critical information infrastructure” — a broad term that includes healthcare, science and the financial sector — switch to domestically developed software by 2025. The move reflected Moscow’s longstanding desire to make state institutions switch away from foreign technology. Some Russian analysts suggested the current edict will do little to assuage suspicions that western intelligence agencies are able to access sensitive information on Russian government activity.

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