Al Franken responds to Carrier IQ, Sprint, AT&T

Sen. Al Franken

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(CBS) - Sen. Al Franken released a statement this morning in response to data given to him by wireless carriers and mobile phone manufacturers.

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"I appreciate the responses I received, but I'm still very troubled by what's going on," the U.S. Senator said in the statement today.

Franken requested data from Carrier IQ, manufacturers and carriers after public outcry over the mobile tracking software and allegations of keylogging. Today, the senator publicly released letters from AT&T, Sprint, Samsung, HTC and Carrier IQ in response to his probe. T-Mobile and Motorola have yet to respond.

Sprint admitted that it began using Carrier IQ software on its devices as early as 2006 and is active on approximately 26 million mobile phones (PDF). AT&T claims the software is running on about 900,000 devices, but only collects data on 575,000 (PDF).

The senator was not satisfied with the responses to his query.

"People have a fundamental right to control their private information. After reading the companies' responses, I'm still concerned that this right is not being respected. The average user of any device equipped with Carrier IQ software has no way of knowing that this software is running, what information it is getting, and who it is giving it to-and that's a problem. It appears that Carrier IQ has been receiving the contents of a number of text messages-even though they had told the public that they did not. I'm also bothered by the software's ability to capture the contents of our online searches-even when users wish to encrypt them. So there are still many questions to be answered here and things that need to be fixed."

The dispute over privacy concerns began when Android developer Trevor Eckhart posted a video on YouTube showing the software Carrier IQ interacting oddly with his mobile phone activity. Eckhert alleged his keystrokes and data were being collected without his permission.

Speculation and accusations began flying immediately over what data Carrier IQ was collecting. Many believed the software was logging keystrokes and collecting sensitive data.

[omnibus66]

If you accept the assumption that all of your cell phone conversations, texts, web connections, app usages as well as your physical location are open to anyone who wants that information, and you are comfortable with it, then you have no problem.

[mitdgreenb]

Not always a fan of Sen. Franken, but he's on the right track here.

To CagedIdeas, I say that you should stop spreading sensationalized sound bites. Modern phones use frequency hopping technology that was originally developed for, and is still used by, the military. It's very difficult to listen in on this sort of thing (which is why the military uses it) and even if you do, the data stream can be encrypted. And if THAT's not enough, mobile browsers can use HTTPS to further limit the possibility that "anyone with a PC" could intercept a transmission.

[There is the possibility of a sort of "man in the middle" attack with older versions of the GSM protocol. However, on a 3G connection, this is not possible.]

Note that having the tower track you is mandated by law. Specifically, if you dial 911, they need to know where you are. However, the carriers have very strict policies... and the government regulates... how they can use that data. One may or may not agree that they can track you, but the rules of the game are public.

More of a problem are apps running on the phone. Just like a PC, malignant apps can listen to the mic, log your keystrokes, or copy your data accesses. This is not a problem particular to phones; it's a problem particular to miscreants who want to steal information. That crooks do this is criminal. That CarrierIQ was facilitated by carriers and manufacturers, perhaps in violation of privacy policies or law, is reprehensible.

[JustAnAverageJoe]

I saw caged's comment the other day and actually went to their site, something it appears you haven't done.

Regardless of you say they actually have a video interview with an FBI field agent that explains everything they claim is possible, and have another news report with two guys on the roof of a building in LA swiping phone contents from phones down on the street and from cars passing by at the Oscars.

Your statement appears to be misinformed opinion at best and theirs appears to be FACT. Go see for yourself