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Comment by pests | Hacker News Reader

The phone being off or it being on airplane is no longer enough.

It is known that complete operating systems run on every chip on that phone of which you don't have knowledge of or access to.

To think a software security solution provided by an OS, a pretty high-level abstraction when considering hardware, of the ability to turn off the radio is insane in these days and ages.

Furthermore with permanent batteries (or with a backup battery hidden inside) being off to the user doesn't mean anything either.

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I'd love to read a source that describes this in more detail.

Assuming such an exploit exists, I don't think I'd be targeted with it. It's my understanding three letter agencies tend to hoard that sort of thing, not blast them at random privacy aficionados.

I remember reading an article years ago: FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool (2006).

> the eavesdropping technique "functioned whether the phone was powered on or off."

https://www.cnet.com/news/fbi-taps-cell-phone-mic-as-eavesdr...

Thanks, that seems to apply to older phones.

I would hope that the FBI would not override airplane mode on a smart phone... what if they did so while a suspect was actually on a plane?

A warrant doesn't give police the right to endanger others IIRC...

> what if they did so while a suspect was actually on a plane?

Nothing would happen. Just like nothing happens to the thousands of people who forget to switch their phones to airplane mode every day.

Look up "Broadpwn" for an attack on Broadcom's BCM43xx radios.

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of thing I want to read up on!

Glad I could help!

I'm curious as to where this backup battery thing came from? Surely the likes of ifixit would notice extra batteries. If you're going to assert that such a thing is still hidden, then frankly, your mindset is such that there is no lengths you can go to protect yourself from... whatever?

I would think a phone with a removable battery would otherwise serve your concerns.

I didn't say backup batteries were in use or assert it as a thing or hidden.

The sentence was about permanent batteries with an aside about how technically a remove-able battery phone could still have power somewhere with it removed.

Surely someone with some RF gear could quickly determine if an iPhone, say, in Airplane Mode ever transmits.

Such a thing would likely be used on specific targeted individuals, not the general public, making detection far more difficult.

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