Pretty ironic that they got caught after going out of their way to buy secure phones and use secure messaging services when an off-the-shelf iPhone and Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram would have made them 100% untraceable.
- Run a basic script to disable app installs, phone calls and some other features.
- Never update the OS. Don't do any security patching.
- Write your own encrypted messaging app with your own crypto. Don't get any external reviews or audits.
- Resell this as a Sky ECC phone with some marketing dollars labeling it as "secure" and "private".
What do you think is more hackable, this or a regular iPhone/Samsung Galaxy/Pixel?
A cheap netbook from a no-name Chinese OEM, running weird software you've never heard of named 'TAILS' which doesn't auto-update or anything, and which the makers say is very secure.
A cheap phone from a no-name Chinese OEM, running weird software you've never heard of named 'Sky ECC' which doesn't auto-update or anything, and which the makers say is very secure.
You've got to be fairly knowledgeable to appraise the two options correctly.
Remote wipe is provided by both Android and iPhone iirc even to end users.
A stock android phone, a knowledgeable user could already remove a bunch of stock apps.
End to end encryption is available for one-to-one conversations, but must be turned on manually.