– not just an accessory for an active, business person. Owners trust this device for personal and work conversations, SMS correspondence and communication using various instant messengers. The device's memory and flash card store pictures, videos and other files that are not intended for prying eyes. Therefore, it is important to take care not only not to lose your smartphone or have it stolen, but also to protect the data on it.

How do spies steal information, what malfunctions should you pay attention to, and how to check your phone for wiretapping?

How is cell phone wiretapping done?

To check if . is bugged, you need to know how hackers can connect to it. There are three ways:

1. Fraudsters will install malware on your phone software. Thanks to wireless communications and special programs For hacking, a user of almost any level can use this method. Using certain types of viruses, criminals can steal and destroy the personal data of the smartphone owner and other information stored on the phone. Thus, the encryption system can be changed by hackers or disabled completely. Such software can get onto a gadget:

• via MMS messages;
• via mobile Internet;
• With using Bluetooth;
• via Wi-Fi connection;
• when the owner connects the smartphone to the computer.

Hacker programs can turn on the microphone and the criminal will receive information while being within a radius of 100 meters from the owner of the phone.

2. Telephone wiretapping using special mobile devices. Such systems usually consist of a computer or two telephones with special modifications. Some people think that such equipment is easy to use and accessible to almost any user. This is wrong. Only a professional communications operator can handle such equipment. You will have to pay up to several hundred thousand dollars for the system.

3. This method is the most expensive. For wiretapping, special complexes are used, the price of which starts from several hundred thousand dollars. This type of equipment is sold semi-legally. It can only be serviced by signalmen with professional education and experience. This method is used to listen to other people's conversations in real time.

Telephone wiretapping indicators

To determine wiretapping, you need to pay attention to the following 7 details:

1. The smartphone seems to “gurgle” when it is near electronics – , . Interference is natural if you are using the device at this moment. But when the phone is lying idle, there is reason to think.

2. The gadget turns on and off “on its own” and registers again on the Internet. If the user inattentively installed and configured unverified applications and programs, this situation is normal. Otherwise, the device can be controlled without the owner’s knowledge.

3. The battery should not become hot if the phone is not used for a while. Hidden running programs can overheat the battery. It is possible that they are spyware.

4. Wiretapping is indicated by the mobile screen, which does not turn off when the device is turned off. Or the phone itself cannot turn off for an unusually long time. But such failures can be the result of installing software without a license and other software errors.

5. The battery is draining faster than usual. A gradual decrease in battery capacity after a year of using the device is normal. Problems of this kind with a new phone indicate that the microphone is turned on and continuous recording of conversations.

6. In a smartphone that supports two SIM cards, an unknown operator appears, signed with several numbers.

7. An echo or crackling sound in the speaker during a conversation confirms the fact of eavesdropping.

How to find out if your phone is tapped?

If concerns about possible wiretapping cause discomfort, you can contact your service operator for help. The telephone company most likely owns line testing equipment. You should go to the police if there is evidence of espionage activity.

There are also programs for smartphones that help find out whether the current conversation is encrypted or accessible to attackers:

1. Check your phone for wiretapping using EAGLE Security FREE. The program analyzes the location and identifies stations. Useful feature– study of applications that secretly use the camera and microphone, and the ability to block access to .

2. Using Darshak, you can detect programs and applications that send text messages without the user's knowledge.

Instructions

Pay attention to the battery temperature. It is worth noting that a phone that has a warm and even hot battery even when the device is not in use. The battery may become warm during a call, but if this happens too quickly, then the phone may be installed spyware.

Notice unusual behavior of the device, which will help you avoid illegal eavesdropping on your conversations. If the phone keeps ringing for a very long time, then this may indicate that your mobile is actively being tapped. The shutdown process may be accompanied by flickering of the screen and backlight. In some cases, the phone cannot be turned off at all. Of course, this may indicate a malfunction.

Monitor the battery condition. If the phone has a dangerous conversation application, it will discharge much faster. But you need to pay attention to this only if for a month the device worked on one charge for several days in a row, and now the battery has begun to discharge within one day. After all, over time, the battery tends to wear out. By the way, rapid battery drain may depend on the fact that the mobile phone records conversations in the room in which it is lying.

Listen to the noises that arise when talking on a mobile device. When wiretapping your phone during a conversation, you may hear strange noises. Clicks, echoes and strange rumbles may be evidence that someone is listening to you. If you are not talking on the phone, but hear a pulsating noise, then this should especially alert you. Also interference on electronic devices, which a mobile gadget creates when you are not using it, can mean it is being wiretapped.

Video on the topic

note

If you think you are being tapped on your phone, then contact law enforcement for help. They will use special equipment to check your guesses and confirm or refute them.

Helpful advice

In order to greatly reduce the likelihood of your telephone being tapped, you should not have your phone repaired in workshops that cause distrust.
If you do not want your phone to reveal your location, then be sure to turn off the device and remove the battery.
Never have an important business conversation on a cell phone.
In a moving car, it is more difficult to intercept a conversation, since the signal weakens and the distance between the intercepting equipment increases.

Sources:

• how to find out wiretapping
• How to listen to cell phone conversations

Listening to a “non-telephone” conversation using a telephone

If necessary, in order to listen to a conversation on the phone, it is not at all necessary to put a “bug” in a person’s pocket or connect a listening device. All it takes is the “victim’s” mobile phone.

At the right moment, your phone will independently and quietly dial a specific number, and an interested attacker will be able to listen to your conversation until he hangs up.

And if your mobile phone is near you, you can rest assured that the conversation will not only be heard, but also recorded. And the distance from you to the wiretapping place does not matter.

By the way, in the phone, in outgoing calls, there will be no traces of the “left” call, and you will not be able to find out that you were eavesdropped. Hard to believe? Alas, this is true. Although not all cell phones can be used by scammers as wiretapping.

There is a segment of consumers who prefer business-class smartphones. This type of device is distinguished by its wide capabilities and attractive design, but at the same time, this smartphone also has many vulnerabilities. By taking advantage of these vulnerabilities, an interested person can turn your smartphone into a wiretap controlled by him, and you won’t even know about it.

And even if the attacker is on the other side of the globe, he will be quite capable of initializing a call to listen to your cell phone. And it is not at all necessary to steal the “victim’s” phone in order to install a “bug” - some brands of phones allow you to call them remotely, without pressing any buttons on the device and even (!) without knowing the number.

Attackers' methods of operation

Some brands of phones with Bluetooth transmitters are susceptible to this vulnerability, allowing the phone to be controlled using a headset. It was the “blunders” in the authorization algorithm for such headsets that made the possibility of remote wiretapping real. The main disadvantage of the headset is that it does not require mandatory authorization.

And all because manufacturers are trying to reduce the cost of the headset by evading the hardware implementation of the authentication algorithm. Mobile phone developers, aware of the lack of such algorithms, eliminated the algorithm for checking the equipment connected to the phone, while, as an additional benefit, the phone was compatible with many headsets.

But not all phone models can be tapped in this way. And the fact that there is no headset authorization algorithm cannot be considered some kind of curiosity, because the headset connected to the phone is used only for talking without using the microphone and speaker of the phone. The headset itself is “not capable” of either making a call or downloading any data from the phone. In other words, an unauthorized connection of the “left” headset to the phone does not make it possible to organize listening.

As a rule, the mobile phone itself initiates the search for the headset, because the headset does not have functionality that allows you to search for devices (in order to reduce cost). That is, the headset cannot find the phone and, moreover, cannot determine the Bluetooth channel through which it is necessary to contact the phone.

For each functionality The Bluetooth transmitter allocates the corresponding port (channel) of the device. A standard transmitter has many ports. This allows the transmitter to simultaneously solve several problems or, in more technical terms, support different profiles.

Profile related functions:

• information interaction with the exit point in global network;
• reception/transmission of electronic business cards;
• emulation serial port for the purpose of exchanging data with a PC, etc.

One of these functions is interaction with a Bluetooth headset. After identifying the Bluetooth headset, the mobile phone provides it with the port number through which the headset is connected. But for “vulnerable” mobile phones the profile number wireless headset publicly available. It turns out that we know the channel number, authorization is not required - what is stopping us from implementing listening to someone else's conversation?? The situation is further complicated by the fact that the headset has quite significant rights.

Hacking a communication subscriber is not as difficult as it seems. This can be done by hackers or intelligence agencies, therefore, given that the threat is real, we want to tell you how to check your phone for wiretapping yourself without the help of specialized service centers.

What types of wiretapping are there?

Official- used by intelligence services that have gained access to wiretapping by court order or other means.

Signal interception- carried out thanks to devices that intercept the communication line and broadcast conversations to attackers.

Via apps- performed by installing a malicious program that listens to all calls, records them, transmits them or stores them on a flash drive.

"Bug"- “spy” equipment for listening, through which a signal is transmitted to the receiver of criminals.

Attention! Recording conversations through special devices is almost never used in Russia, as it is very expensive. Most often they resort to spyware or bugs.

Signs of wiretapping a mobile phone

There are five key ways to tell if your conversations are being eavesdropped.

Noise around audio equipment and during communication

Having noticed some extraneous sounds or interference while communicating with your interlocutors, you should think about the fact that you might be being watched. Another sure sign of this is the presence of noise in the speakers when the gadget is lying somewhere nearby.

Increased delay before and after connecting to another subscriber

Another important signal is too long a waiting time after dialing a number. If, for example, you call a person from your iPhone or Android and the connection takes too long, you may be hooked. We also check how long it takes to disconnect after a call, this is also a significant indicator.

Increased heating when idle

Usually this indicates the presence of a virus, but sometimes it demonstrates that the device is infected with wiretapping. Monitor the temperature of the device lid, check the list installed programs to determine the culprit of overheating.

Frequent reboots

Pay attention to whether the smartphone reboots on its own. Yes, this can be caused by many factors, but still one of them is listening software that causes software failures.

Low Internet speed and loss of traffic

Has it ever happened to you that downloading files from the network seemed to be going very quickly before, but now everything is downloading too slowly? Or was it not possible to use up the traffic in a month, but now it is “flowing away” in a couple of weeks? If yes, then take a closer look at other strange phenomena, as this may indicate that spyware has settled on your phone.

Strange messages

Those who have listening software often receive incomprehensible SMS with unknown numbers. The texts contain nothing but mysterious symbols.

Attention! These symptoms do not provide a 100% guarantee that you are being eavesdropped. Similar problems are caused by a lot of network failures or software glitches. They can only make you think that your privacy is at risk.

How to check a smartphone for wiretapping?

If you notice any of the above points, start checking your mobile phone for tracking.

Using codes

Pay attention to these combinations, which will help you detect redirection and understand whether you are being eavesdropped. They must be entered into the dialer, and then look for the answer.

Here is the list of commands:

• "*33*"- the easiest testing method. Enter the combination “*33*”, and then check the reaction of the mobile phone to entering other characters. If after the second asterisk the smartphone stops printing any numbers or icons, then the device is tapped. This is not the most reliable method, professionals are still arguing about its effectiveness, so it is better to play it safe and do it additional checks.
• "*#21#"- by entering this line, you will find out which numbers are being forwarded to. This type of tracking practice is often resorted to by jealous partners, as well as by parents who want to protect and control their child.
• "*#62#"- another combination of numbers to determine where the redirect is directed.
• "##002#"- a universal request that blocks any form of relay from your mobile phone.

They are safe for the device, just be careful with the last one.

Programs for checking

They are often used, and the most trusted applications are SpyWarn, Darshak and EAGLE Security. You can download the latest utility to your mobile from Play Market, and the rest will have to be downloaded from official sites. They identify real stations from fake ones, and thus calculate surveillance.

Communication with the operator

Perhaps the best method is to contact your telecom operator and ask them to check for wiretapping. Cellular companies have the necessary devices for these purposes. They analyze the state of the line and produce a reliable result, unlike combinations that occasionally make mistakes.

How to get rid of mobile phone wiretapping?

Naturally, the most obvious option is to take your phone to service center and analyze installed programs, as well as exploits responsible for leaking data. After employees confirm the wiretapping and determine how it functions, they will be able to destroy it or block it.

You can also try to remove the listener application yourself. To do this, install one of the popular antiviruses, for example, from Kaspersky Lab. This utility cares about privacy, so it can catch malware and erase it, protecting your cell phone.

It would be a good idea to take steps to remove suspicious software from the list of applications. Also go to the battery usage statistics, perhaps there is a program there that uses the battery too much and is constantly in the background. Check it out through a Google search and if there have been complaints about it, remove it immediately.

In general, when you need to secure the exchange of information, use Telegram messenger(there is a version for iPhone and Android), its secret chats have not yet been hacked. So you don’t have to worry about the safety of your data. Do not forget that you should not open pop-up banners and incoming messages from unknown numbers. And never click on links from unknown sources. This is fraught with the risk of a virus or wiretapping entering the system.

That before the arrest of the former Minister of Open Government Affairs Mikhail Abyzov, his phone was tapped for about two years. RTVI found out how Russian laws regulate wiretapping and how it can be organized, as well as how to protect yourself from invasion of privacy.

Legal wiretapping

Any democratic state recognizes the right of citizens to privacy as one of the fundamental principles of individual freedom. It is protected by the constitution, and violators face serious sanctions.

At the same time, the state, as a guarantor of security, reserves the opportunity, under certain conditions, to listen to people’s phones, as well as read correspondence and monitor activity on the Internet. Without this, it is impossible to effectively combat threats that come, for example, from terrorists, as well as investigate crimes.

“Everyone has the right to privacy of correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraph and other messages. Restriction of this right is permitted only on the basis of a court decision,” guarantees Article 23 of the Russian Constitution.

The federal law “On Operational-Investigative Activities” states that legal wiretapping of telephone conversations, as well as tracking of messages and activity on the Internet, is possible only with a court decision. To obtain it, intelligence officers must convince the court that the person is preparing to commit a serious crime.

Photo:

Lauren Hurley / PA Images / TASS

They can also add a person’s phone number to an existing court order and justify this with operational data about his involvement in a crime, or indicate him among the contacts of suspects, or say that he may have some information on the case. In this case, the object of the wiretapping may theoretically have nothing to do with the investigation at all.

Court decisions on wiretapping are classified as “secret”, and it will not be possible to find out the names of those who were “under the hood”.

In “urgent cases,” wiretapping can be started without permission, for example, if it is necessary to prevent a serious crime or there is a potential threat to the security of the country. In this case, intelligence officers are required to notify the court within 24 hours and obtain permission after 48 hours.

According to the law, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB have wiretapping powers, which involve telecom operators in their work and can act in the interests of other law enforcement agencies, such as the Foreign Intelligence Service, the FSO, the FSIN and customs.

According to former State Duma deputy and KGB officer Gennady Gudkov, intelligence services usually do not formally violate the requirements of the law, since there are judges who are “seconded” to law enforcement agencies and allow their employees to turn on wiretapping. The editor-in-chief of the website agentura.ru, journalist Andrei Soldatov, told the BBC that only the head of the operative who is conducting the investigation sees the court’s permission. According to him, this is the case when the system controls itself.

Wiretapping of telephones and control of Internet traffic by intelligence services is hidden under the abbreviation SORM - “System technical means to ensure the functions of operational-search activities.” Operators mobile communications and Internet providers themselves connect equipment to it. At the same time, neither the mobile operator nor the Internet provider asks the court for permission to wiretap and cannot control it. Technically, the system works in such a way that an intelligence officer just needs to press a few buttons to put conversations under wiretapping.

Statistics on how many people in Russia are wiretapped are not easy to find. In 2016, the human rights group Agora, based on data from the judicial department at the Supreme Court of Russia, wrote a report “Russia under surveillance.” It says that from 2007 to 2015, courts issued more than 4.5 million permits to wiretap and record telephone conversations, as well as access to correspondence.

If we take into account that one decision can contain several names at once, the numbers increase significantly. “Thus, over the past 9 years, at least 9 million people (approximately 6% of the population) in Russian Federation could be wiretapped only on the basis of a court decision,” human rights activists noted.

Illegal wiretapping

In addition to legal wiretapping, which the intelligence services were allowed by the court, you can also become a victim of illegal wiretapping. In this case, we are talking, as a rule, not about the interests of state security, but about more mundane things.

For example, business competitors can order wiretapping of a person who has some trade secrets. At the same time, all more or less large companies have their own security services, which, among other things, protect high-ranking employees from wiretapping.

More access to telephone conversations- this is a great way to collect incriminating evidence, for example, during divorce proceedings or for blackmail. Jealous husbands and wives may also listen to their spouses' conversations to spy on them.

Photo:

Sebastian Gollnow / DPA / TASS

Of course, the SORM system is not used for such wiretapping. Trojan viruses are used. They can be downloaded via a fake software update, via email with a fake application or malicious link, or when connecting a smartphone to a computer.

You can find many sites on the Internet that offer to install so-called control programs on your smartphone. Sellers of such services say that this software will allow you to record conversations, gain access to SMS correspondence and call logs.

Sometimes this requires access to the phone, which causes certain problems, since it is not always possible to take the phone from the user. However, in most cases the software can be installed remotely. You can only check if it really works if you use such services.

There are other ways in which it is theoretically possible to wiretap mobile phones. They are unlikely to be suitable for jealous spouses or caring parents who want to control their children, since wiretapping in such ways is expensive and technically difficult.

Other wiretapping methods

VulnerabilitySS7

The SS7 protocol system began operating in the early 1980s and combined telephone operators worldwide. It is used to exchange information and route calls. There is a vulnerability in the system, which, as the Washington Post wrote, allows conversations to be listened to and recorded.

The hardest part is connecting to SS7. Need connections among mobile operators, which will give access to the system. After this, you need subscriber IDs to connect to his network and gain access to conversations and correspondence. The victim of wiretapping will not know anything, since you can connect to SS7 from any country in the world and listen to the subscriber even on the other side of the Earth. On the darknet you can find surveillance offers and buy programs that will allow you to attack SS7.

Fake base stations

Such equipment looks like a computer or laptop complete with several specially modified phones. Despite its apparent simplicity, only a highly qualified communications operator can operate such a system. The cost of a fake base station, depending on its characteristics, varies from several thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The principle of its operation is to intercept the communication signal that the phone sends to the operator’s base station to establish a connection and transfer data. Since the system is portable, it is installed close to the desired mobile phone (up to 500 meters), and the fake base station becomes an intermediary between the phone and the real station. This allows specialists to manage the subscriber's connection, for example, weaken encryption and gain access to the conversation.

Mobile complex for remote wiretapping

Such a complex consists of an antenna that is connected to a computer. It is also placed at a distance of no more than 500 meters from the subscriber. Manufacturers claim that the system allows you to intercept the phone's GSM signal. After this, it needs to be decrypted and the conversation recording is ready.

The main disadvantages of mobile complexes are: high price(from $100 thousand) and powerful equipment for signal decoding. Using them is expensive, labor-intensive, and requires professional cryptographers.

How to recognize surveillance

Photo:

Andreu Dalmau / EPA / TASS

If intelligence services are engaged in wiretapping, then it is almost impossible to understand that you have become its object. The same can be said about hacking the SS7 system, using mobile complexes and fake base stations.

But based on indirect signs, it can be determined that the smartphone is probably being tapped using spyware or viruses.

What should you pay attention to first?

Battery charge

If your phone battery is draining faster than usual, this may indicate a malware, because of which the microphone is constantly working and recording conversations. At the same time, do not forget that over time, the battery capacity decreases due to natural reasons.

Smartphone temperature

The device gets hotter than usual when in use or even when lying idle. Heating can be caused by hidden running programs, and not necessarily malicious ones.

The smartphone “lives its own life”

We are talking about spontaneous switching on and off, as well as “glitches” in which the phone itself sends calls or its screen suddenly lights up when locked. This could actually be a virus or even remote control apparatus.

Extraneous sounds

Systematic interference during a conversation, as well as humming, buzzing or rustling are symptoms that should make the phone owner wary. Especially if the audio equipment in the house makes a crackling or squeaking sound next to your smartphone when a person is not talking on it.

Phone is slow

We are talking about a long loading time when turning it on and off, as well as a long connection to mobile internet with a good signal.

How to protect yourself?

Look for viruses

The first thing to do is scan your phone for viruses and malware. If you can’t find them, then experts advise resetting the device to factory settings.

With this procedure, it is better to transfer important data from the smartphone to another storage medium, since it will be deleted from the device. Experts also advise installing good antivirus and update it regularly.

Install special programs

You can also protect yourself from connecting to fake base stations. For example, these are the EAGLE Security, CatcherCatcher and IMSI-Catcher Detector applications. There are also various applications for encrypting conversations.

There are several ways that will help protect yourself from wiretapping, although not 100%. Firstly, there is no need to download applications from little-known developers. Secondly, it is better to call more often using instant messengers, since they have strong encryption systems. You should also be careful when connecting to unverified Wi-Fi networks.

If you want to dispel or, on the contrary, confirm fears that you are being monitored, you need to contact the cellular company that provides you with mobile communication services, or cyber defense specialists. Illegal wiretapping in Russia is punishable by a fine, correctional labor, a ban on holding certain positions, and even arrest.

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