Edward Snowden’s iPhone Device: A Watchdog Against Surveillance

Edward Snowden, the infamous whistleblower who exposed America’s covert surveillance activities, has turned his attention to mitigating the onslaught of surveillance by authorities— for iPhone users, at least. Snowden is currently working on a novel attachment that provides alerts if someone’s eavesdropping on your mobile activities.

*Mock up design of the novel gadget by Edward Snowden*

What we have is a clever piece of tech seemingly pulled right out of James Bond’s playbook. It takes the form of a casing with a display on the back that connects to the iPhone’s SIM card slot. This link-up allows the device to monitor your iPhone’s radio operations.

According to Wired, Edward Snowden, currently residing in Russia, isn’t alone on this revolutionary project. He has partnered with hardware hacker Andrew “Bunnie” Huang. Together, they plan to develop a device that connects to your iPhone’s inner mechanisms and continuously checks if your phone’s radios are transmitting.

In essence, their device offers an added layer of security, providing assurance that your phone’s radios are inactive—a level of reliability far superior to the traditional “airplane mode”. Their project aims to provide strong privacy guarantees to smartphone users who need to shield their phones from government-funded adversaries with highly sophisticated hacking and surveillance abilities.

Primarily intended for professionals handling sensitive information, particularly journalists working in hostile foreign countries, this device would alert the user if their phone’s Wi-Fi, PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Networks), and Bluetooth signals are being monitored. This protective gadget could ensure that phone receivers aren’t active when they should not be – a necessary functionality, especially when travelling in areas that pose a risk to their personal safety.

The pair has validated their method by examining the electrical signals sent to an iPhone 6’s antennae, proving that they can indeed spot its varied radio messages. However, they have yet to build a functional prototype of this design, let alone a complete product.

Once the concept is entirely developed, they aim to start manufacturing the product in China, where it is comparatively easier to customize phones than in most other places across the globe.

In the exiting world of online security, we are quickly learning that finding a complete solution is challenging as threats morph each day. Third-party security measures sometimes prove inadequate, leading many, like Mark Zuckerberg, to resort to traditional tactics such as physically covering laptop cameras and microphones.

The recent Apple-FBI saga demonstrated the unforeseen need for a third party’s involvement in bypassing an iPhone’s security features. While we wait impatiently to see this concoction in its final form, the topic invariably sparks a debate around the sensitive issue of privacy.

For the full story, you can head over to Wired. As of now, Apple hasn’t responded to the prospects of this device gaining popularity among iPhone users.

With rapid advances in technology and seemingly ever-present surveillance threats, Snowden’s device could potentially represent a significant stride towards countering unwarranted surveillance.