Edward Snowden has helped design a mobile phone case called the “introspection engine” that, he claims, will show when a smartphone is transmitting information that could be monitored.

Presenting via video link to an event at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Snowden and co-designer Andrew “Bunnie” Huang showed how the device connects to a phone’s different radio transmitters, reminding its owner when a cellular, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection is being used to share or receive data.

Initial mockups of the introspection engine show a small, monochromatic display built into its casing. It shows whether the phone is “dark” or transmitting, and it can also supply an iPhone with extra battery power and cover the rear-facing camera.

It could be developed to act as a sort of “kill switch” that would disconnect a phone’s power supply when it detects that a radio is transmitting data after its owner has attempted to turn it off.

The device is an academic project and nowhere near ready for the mass market, but could still influence how consumers view the “tracking devices” — otherwise known as smartphones that they rely on every day.

“If you have a phone in your pocket that’s turned on, a long-lived record of your movements has been created,” Snowden said. “As a result of the way the cell network functions your device is constantly shouting into the air by means of radio signals a unique identity that validates you to the phone company. This unique identity is not only saved by that phone company, but it can also be observed as it travels over the air by independent, even more dangerous third parties.”

Most smartphones disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular transmission when in airplane mode, but Snowden and Huang say that can’t be trusted.

“Malware packages, peddled by hackers at a price accessible by private individuals, can activate radios without any indication from the user interface,” they write in their paper on the device. “Trusting a phone that has been hacked to go into airplane mode is like trusting a drunk person to judge if they are sober enough to drive.”

爱德华•斯诺登参与设计了一个手机

壳，称为“反监听装置”，他声称可以监测到智能手机是否在传输可能被监听的信息。

在马萨诸塞州剑桥市的麻省理工学院媒体实验室，斯诺登和他的合作伙伴Andrew“Bunnie” Huang通过视频链接进行了演示，向手机用户展示该装置如何连接到手机的无线电发射器，该设备会向用户显示手机是否在使用蜂窝技术，Wi-Fi或蓝牙设备连接分享或接收数据。

反监听装置的初始模型是植入手机保护套的一个小小的单色显示器，它能够显示手机是否被“黑”，或是否在传送信息，它还可以为苹果手机充电，并盖住后置摄像头。

该装置可以成为一种“切断开关”，如果检测到用户关闭数据服务后依然有无线数据传送，它就会断开手机电源。

该装置是一个学术项目，还没有量产上市的准备，但仍可能提醒消费者正确看待“跟踪设备”— 就是他们每天依赖的智能手机。

斯诺登说：“如果你的口袋里有一个开着的手机，那么它就创建了一个有关你的活动的长久记录。由于手机网络运作的方式，你的手机不断以无线电信号的方式向空中发射特殊的身份信息，这种信息向电话公司确认你的身份。而这个独特的身份信息不仅会被该电话公司保存，还会在传送的过程中被独立个体、甚至是危险的第三方监测到。”

大多数智能手机在飞行模式下禁用Wi-Fi，蓝牙和蜂窝传输，但斯诺登和Huang表示这不可信任。他们在有关该装置的文件中写到：“黑客兜售的恶意软件包价格平易近

人，可以在用户界面没有任何指示的情况下激活无线电信号。相信一个已经被黑客攻击的手机进入了飞行模式，就像相信一个醉酒的人去判断自己是否足够清醒、可以开车。”

(Chinadaily.com.cn)

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【自省】zìxǐng introspection self-examination

    【清醒的】qīngxǐng de sober not intoxicated or drunk