Print
Have you heard about that nasty little bit of software called Carrier IQ? A security researcher by the name of Trevor Eckhart discovered the mysterious software running on his Android phone earlier this month, dug deeper into things, and found Carrier IQ, a monitoring program that comes preinstalled on several phones, tracks all kinds of data – including HTTP requests, GPS location and app usage information – and in many cases, can’t be turned off. Millions of phones are affected. Carrier IQ’s been found on phones from Samsung, HTC and Apple– but wireless carriers could be the real force behind the rootkit-like software.
Carrier IQ has been found on a bunch of HTC phones, and when ZDNET – who is maintaining an excellently updated article on which companies are using Carrier IQ, and which aren’t – asked them about it, HTC basically fingered the blame at wireless providers.
Carrier IQ is required on devices by a number of U.S carriers so if consumers or media have any questions about the practices relating to, or data collected by, Carrier IQ we’d advise them to contact their carrier.
Well, that sucks. Which companies, exactly, are among those “number of U.S. carriers” that force smartphone manufacturers to include Carrier IQ? Again, ZDNet has the answer. AT&T and Sprint have both owned up to using data provided by Carrier IQ to “improve wireless network and service performance” and “understand device performance,” respectively. Apple also said they include Carrier IQ in the iPhone, although they say they “stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update.”
On the other hand, Verizon Wireless, RIM, Nokia, Google and Microsoft have all come out and said flat-out that they have no affiliation whatsoever with Carrier IQ, either the company or the software. T-Mobile has yet to comment on the situation.
In related news, Senator Al Franken is demanding that Carrier IQ (the company) fork over details about the program, and a class-action lawsuit has been filed against HTC, Samsung and Carrier IQ in Missouri earlier today.
Comments are closed on this article
warptek2010
December 03, 2011 at 12:10am
Al Franken???? What's he gonna do, make the carriers laugh themselves to death? Oh wait, wouldn't be possible since he HASN'T BEEN FUNNY IN 22 YEARS.
Let's say I was a carrier, and Franken "demanded" details. I would basically say... Sen... Go bleep yourself.
(And no, I do not agree with their use of CIQ).
dougau
December 02, 2011 at 3:26pm
Anyone wanna bet this is how AT&T KNOWS you've been tethering? Hint, hint!!
Deviate
December 02, 2011 at 2:52pm
Can't you just eliminate this by rooting the device? I guess it would be a choice of either warranty or privacy.
Black Widow
December 03, 2011 at 6:32pm
Cyanogenmod never has, and never will have, Carrier IQ:
http://www.cyanogenmod.com/blog/cyanogenmod-will-never-have-carrier-iq
roadshow41
December 02, 2011 at 4:06pm
A simple root will not remove CIQ. If you want your privacy, you have to use a rom that has been specifically designed to omit CIQ. The guys at XDA and other android focused developer communities have done a fantastic job of dealing with this issue. Do a search for CIQ on XDA if you want a serious look at the spyware, and the countermeasures necessary to deal with it.
I Jedi
December 02, 2011 at 3:33pm
You can eliminate it by rooting and installing a ROM that has it taken out. There are several ROMs for my phone, that I know of, which eliminate the Carrier IQ package.
ApathyCurve
December 02, 2011 at 1:39pm
Until I noticed he didn't have a pipe in his mouth, I thought that was a picture of Bob Dobbs. Those damned Sub-Genii are conniving and deceitful creatures, I tell you. We Pastafarians were considering a jihad against them, but then the Golden Corral had all-you-can-eat marinara night and we got distracted.
I Jedi
December 02, 2011 at 12:58pm
I don't know why this is suddenly news to everyone? I've known about this on the XDA forums for over a year now.
roadshow41
December 02, 2011 at 3:32pm
Yeah, no kidding. I can't believe this is considered 'news' and that it was supposedly only uncovered 'earlier this month'. I've been running custom ROMs with CIQ removed for nearly a year as well. In addition to being a security black hole, it's also a serious battery drain. Any android user that hasn't ditched the sucky stock roms that come preinstalled with all the carrier bloatware for a rooted custom is crazy.
gatorXXX
December 03, 2011 at 5:13am
It's been talked about for awhile now and has never really been a real concern until the video popped up logging your every input. Before, everyone thought it logged signal strengths to upgrade/fix towers to better the network but now, it's been uncovered that it "might" infringe on wiretap laws as it logs everything you do.
I say I shouldn't have to root for privacy. That in itself is against my rights as an individual because it doesn't give you a choice to opt-in or opt-out... but if you disagree with the terms of service, AOS will not load making your phone a paperweight. I call BS to all this and we all should mass email Dan Hesse @ dan@sprint.com and voice our concern over this.
