When The Police Can Brick Your Phone

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While I want to make a tinfoil hat joke here, we all know this is definitely possible.

If the owner can disable a phone with nothing but access to a computer or another mobile device, so can Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Nokia or Apple. Google and Apple have already demonstrated their ability to remove software from all devices using their respective operating systems. If the designers of a phone’s operating system can brick a phone, guess who else can do the same? Everybody from the NSA to your friendly neighborhood police force, that’s who. At most, all they’ll need is a convincing argument that they’re acting in the interest of “public safety.”
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The thing is the NSA and other LEO bodies have zero incentive to brick your phone. In fact they have zero incentive to actually stop crime and terrorism. Think about it. If they actually eliminated these things why would we the tax payers continue to support these organizations with money and tolerance. An environment of fear and manipulation are required for their continued existence.
 
They most definitely have an incentive in bricking phones during an uprising, or the like, to limit communication.
 
cause, you know, we were never able to get riots going on before the mobile phone
 
This article is FUD. Any kill switch to be implemented was discussed to done in hardware, Apple specifically is in talks to add this to their Hardware 'Enclave', where it should be, and I hardly doubt any lone hacker is going to exploit it. I also don't see any law enforcement abusing this en masse, there's too much at stake, and probably would take a court order to enact such a kill switch in a situation other than for what it was intended, which is to brick a stolen phone...
 
Eisenblut said:
They most definitely have an incentive in bricking phones during an uprising, or the like, to limit communication.
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Wow, short memories. Aside from the fact that this would be highly suspect at the absolute best, it is likely illegal on many levels. Not to mention counter intuitive. Good communication allows groups to better police themselves. Cutting off all communication to and among protesters or rioters during a riot will be cause for increased violence. I'm sure you think that rolling down a street in a MRAP during a mostly peaceful protest wouldn't incite any violence at all....
 
ghost6303 said:
Just like they have zero incentive to brick major internet backbone routers? that doesnt mean they dont do it anyway.
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Yea, let's throw in an obscure reference to an alleged CIA operation in the Middle East. As a basis for likely action taken at home. The point is, if you brick a potential terrorists phone, how on earth can you prove to anyone that said person is a potential terrorist?
 
m heisty said:
The thing is the NSA and other LEO bodies have zero incentive to brick your phone. In fact they have zero incentive to actually stop crime and terrorism. Think about it. If they actually eliminated these things why would we the tax payers continue to support these organizations with money and tolerance. An environment of fear and manipulation are required for their continued existence.
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agreed. Same with the medical industry.. there's no money in fully healthy people so the med industry wants us to live in a world of controlled disease and mental issues so we keep spending $$$$ on meds and dr visits. With the cell phone thing, I would think they would be more interested in tapping into our phones and finding out where people are and what they are doing / talking / texting about. Bricking them would leave them in the dark as much as it would us.
 
Fight the Power!!!!!

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The owner of a phone "bricking" it is one thing. But for the government to justify disabling an individual phone, there would have to be some extreme justification for doing so. Like to the extent that you were using your phone to detonate a device and it could be 100% provable.

The government can come and take your house and land without hesitation. That doesn't mean it's done cart blanche. They usually have to present a solid case in order to deprive you of property. So is the case with your cell phone.

The smart phone is becoming one of the most influential creations of modern times. It is changing the way the societies work. Over the weekend I watched live riots from the front line in a town that was 650 miles away from my physical location. It was raw and unedited and there was no bias or slant injected into it. That is very powerful. And we will see a lot of laws be created or challenged as everyone comes to accept this new device.
 
Eisenblut said:
They most definitely have an incentive in bricking phones during an uprising, or the like, to limit communication.
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Why? They make cell signal blockers. Just turn 'em on and bingo, all the cell phones are blocked within a certain area. Instant on, instant off. The cops radios on other frequencies remain unaffected.
 
nightfly said:
Why? They make cell signal blockers. Just turn 'em on and bingo, all the cell phones are blocked within a certain area. Instant on, instant off. The cops radios on other frequencies remain unaffected.
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It can still serve as a recording device. It's hard to write history when 10,000 other people show a different perspective.
 
The big bad powers that be will just brick the towers if they decide to disrupt an uprising. This is to deter thugs from stealing peoples precious $700 iPhone's.

Your fancy $$$ device is useless without the tower anyway. Why would they bother with individuals when they could just pull the plug in one location?
 
Good. They should start with people using their phones in their cars and then go for the creepers in Toronto that are out after midnight pretending to be sucked into sending text messages so they can ram into people and steal their money or cop a feel.
 
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