Risks In Using Smartphones And Data Privacy

Risks In Using Smartphones And Data Privacy

It is really sad to know nations are stagging on people through their inevitable usage of internet in smartphones and computers. It ought to be noted that the chief technology officer of the prime intelligence agency of the US, we are already a ‘walking sensor platform’. If you think that we people have rights to privacy, anonymity and ownership on our data transferred online, you are completely wrong! By using Facebook, Twitter and Google platforms are not 100% safe as they can store all the information including deleted data and could be accessed at any time.

You might have heard of PRISM story of NSA-US surveillance programme. This is involved US spying  on millions of phone calls, video calls, social network data and even emails people sent across the world. It has been revealed by Edward Snowden, a worker in contract with NSA. Recently it asked Verizon, a major telecom company has been asked to submit all of its phone records.

data security

This kind accessing information is not limited to US alone. It could happen in our country also. The Times Of India reported in its 20^th July 2013 edition details this with technicalities. Government of India declared its monitoring system centralised, to monitor phones both mobile and landline, internet chattering and surveillance on 90 crore (the data may not be correct) phones, and 1.2 crore internet users in the country. It could be taken as a security measure of the country, but the system or programme they use doesn’t have complete accountability, TOI reported.  

Data theft

As India have two modified interception laws with IT Act 1885 and another one with 2008 amendment that granted the government to spy on very extensively. Pavan Duggal an SC lawyer on cyber issues expressed his concern over non-existent of data privacy in India. The security measures of encryption of data are not up to the mark/standard expressed by Matrix Shell at ‘Nullcon’ a security conference in 2012 at Goa.

Data used

Let’s see how our smart phones are putting us at risk.
We carry it always wherever we go and it has GPS, camera and other sensors like compass, accelerometer, light sensor and gyroscope are few among them enabling. It is capable of looking and listening to our milieu.  

The downloaded apps and malicious hardware can also be used for hacking calls, our data used and stored in our phone but we are not sure of what apps they are.

Please note Google in Android puts the risk at users making us to select “allow access to download from unknown sources”.  So you can’t claim anything from them if any threat happens. All of us select it without any hesitation because without the apps there is no fun or much use in having smartphones.

The telecom operators are liable and must handover the data to government whenever required. Think of the magnitude of the consequences if someone from US or other countries like Nigeria (known place for hackers) stealing passwords, codes and bank account details you use in your phone through an ‘app from unknown source’ as Android describes.

analysis data theft

Few Tips:

Avoid using and storing bank account passwords in phone book

Avoid downloading not necessary but appealing apps

Download and use apps that are certainly required rather than testing almost all apps

Think before sharing unknown companies in FB with attracting bonuses like “free talk time’ etc.

Don’t try to exploit the internet by using it in all dimensions

These may reduce our risk in using smartphones but please remember it may be a spy we carry with us. When a Supreme Court lawyer says data privacy does not exist in India, we need to be bit careful.