Are there phones that are not tapped or tracked?

Are there wiretapping-protected phones, and what kind of devices are they?

The history of “hacking” telephone lines clearly dates back to 1993-1995. At that time, the first mass-produced cell phones already existed, and the GSM standard network was launched a year earlier, in 1992. From that moment on, the confrontation between intelligence services and hackers began.

Today there are many secure phones, but they use mass-produced software and hardware solutions, and various vulnerabilities are constantly found in their firmware.

Therefore, it is obvious that none of the serial devices today can provide a high level of protection.

The reason is simple - there are vulnerabilities in the GSM standard, in SIM cards, and so on. And although hacking requires expensive equipment, in fact, if they want to hack you and listen to you, it is quite possible to do so.

Of course, various “hacker” phones are advertised on the Internet, but these are often weak devices that, although they can provide secure communication, are not good for anything else.

If you are still interested in the most secure devices, then in the entire history of their existence it is worth highlighting such models as:

• TopSec GSM based on a Siemens push-button handset with a crypto-chip and optional encryption for 2.7 thousand USD;
• Swiss device HC-2413 with a scrambling element at the bottom of the device and a 128-bit crypto key;
• Swedish phone Sectra Tiger of zero production year, encrypted in the range of 56-256 digits for as much as 5 thousand USD.

Phones that can't be tapped

Now we are armed with knowledge of the most popular wiretapping methods. How to protect yourself from them?

SORM

There seems to be no protection from SORM. If you make a call, you will in any case transfer the data to the telecom operator, and he will in any case be obliged to provide it to the intelligence services. But what if you bypass the operator and connect directly to the satellite? Luckily, this is possible—you can buy a satellite phone. Russian intelligence services will not be able to trace calls from “satellite” to “satellite” or from “satellite” abroad. And if you call from a “satellite” to a regular landline or mobile phone, then the identity of your interlocutor may be revealed, but yours will not.

Such a phone will cost you at least 35–50 thousand rubles, but it has several advantages (from the point of view of anonymity):

• documents are not required to purchase a SIM card;
• You can choose any number. Most Russians choose, for example, prefixes similar to real Russian ones, so that there are fewer questions;
• it is almost impossible to track such a call;
• Communication from the satellite is delayed, and therefore the voice of the owner of such a device is distorted. So even if the call is intercepted by the FSB or other services, they are unlikely to be able to clarify your identity using phonetic examination.

Satellite phones may look archaic, but they provide the most secure and secure form of communication.

SS7

A simple but quite effective protection against eavesdropping via SS7 is encryption of outgoing data. A hacker can connect to your phone, but he is unlikely to be able to decrypt the data. For encryption, specialized phones use crypto chips or scramblers that generate complex keys. This method has one feature - only a person with the same phone (or one similar in encryption method) can receive your encrypted calls. This means that you can protect your conversations with your grandmother in the village only by giving her the same phone number.

Let's look at several models of such phones:

• TopSec GSM. This phone from the German company is a Siemens S35, enhanced with a special crypto chip. Encryption can be managed (more precisely, turned on and off) in the phone menu. Encryption is carried out in such a way that encrypted GSM data packets are perceived by the network as normal ones;
• HC-2413. This phone has a more elongated body - this is not without reason. At the bottom there is a scrambler, which is responsible for encrypting calls. The device uses a 128-bit key - this is enough to protect against most intruders;
• Sectra Tiger. This phone uses 256-bit keys to create a secure communication channel over GSM. True, the manufacturer supplies it only on an industrial scale and only to government organizations. The release of “civilian” models is not yet known.

How to find out if your phone is wiretapped

If you think your phone is being tapped, you can confirm this by indirect means. For example, if you agreed to use the MTS Locator feature, you may be tracked.

It is noteworthy that it only shows your location. In addition, such functionality is quite easy to disable.

You can also be monitored if you installed pirated programs on your smartphone or if it got viruses. At the same time, it will be difficult to confirm the fact of surveillance, but if money disappears from your account, and the number suddenly turns out to be subscribed to paid services, you are almost certainly being monitored (remember that many operators do not disdain such techniques).

Among other things, the potential for surveillance may be indicated by excessive heating of the battery and smartphone directly during its operation (and not just during fast charging), slowdown in the operation of programs, and so on. And don’t forget that similar manifestations can be observed if cryptocurrency is being mined on the device.

It’s another matter if the wiretapping comes from the operator’s side, because it cannot be tracked in principle. Modern technologies make it possible to do this unnoticed and as efficiently as possible.

At the same time, even the vaunted push-button phones, on which spyware cannot be installed, will not save you from such wiretapping. True, only special services have access to the operator’s records. If they are not interested in you, you have nothing to fear.

Note that the method of wiretapping through an operator is most often used.

After all, according to the Yarovaya Law, it is the company providing communication services that stores correspondence, recordings of negotiations, etc. So this is the easiest way to get information, even without having to hack your phone and install spyware.

How phones are tapped

First, let's figure out how phones can be wiretapped in principle. There are several wiretapping methods:

• SORM. This is an absolutely legal, but privatized by the government method of wiretapping calls from all operators. SORM stands for “system of operational investigative measures.” Each telecom operator is required to install the appropriate hardware and software, and then, at the first request of the intelligence services, provide access to it. If the company refuses, then it is simply not issued a license (or the existing one is revoked);
• SS7 signaling network. Signaling system No. 7 is one of the main vulnerabilities of mobile communications. A hacker with a sufficient level of skill from anywhere in the world can connect to SS7 of any operator and select the number of the subscriber he wants to listen to. All further calls from the user (both incoming and outgoing) will take place via a discreet conference call with the hacker as a third party. It can record wiretapped conversations. This method is illegal and is used for fraudulent purposes, but it is not always possible to track the attacker;
• Trojan application. The easiest way to listen to the phone of a specific person, which is used not only by hackers, but also by quite ordinary people (for example, especially jealous ones). To do this, you need to gain access to this smartphone for at least 15–20 minutes in order to download spyware into it. All further calls and messages will be recorded and sent to the attacker. The most popular application of this kind is FinFisher (another name is FinSpy). It is known that in 2011 it was used by the Egyptian government during the Arab War.

  
  FinFisher also produces programs for collecting information from a PC

We will not dwell in detail on how to recognize wiretapping. You can read about this in many other articles. Now let's focus on how a phone can protect itself from wiretapping.

Is it possible to avoid wiretapping without changing the device?

Of course, many people wonder whether it is possible to avoid wiretapping without changing their phone. And, fortunately, such an opportunity exists, although several conditions must be met to use it.

For this:

• Install an antivirus on your phone and check it. This will allow you to understand whether your phone is being drained by a regular advertising Trojan or miner, or whether you are being monitored.
• Change all passwords for social networks, bank accounts, etc. If you are not a criminal, then most often it is this data that hackers are interested in.
• Try to use long passwords of at least 10 characters, and do not store them on your phone.
• If you have something to hide, do not use regular telephone conversations and SMS. To do this, it is better to use messengers with end-to-end encryption, which you certainly cannot listen to. You can also use steganography to hide messages in images by transmitting passwords through other channels.
• Check for redirects. For this you can use GSM codes.

Thus, you can learn about surveillance and effectively get rid of it. True, as mentioned above, this is unlikely to help those who have really begun to be followed. However, in this case, you obviously won’t look for recipes against surveillance on the Internet.

To summarize, it is worth noting that there are no phones that are 100% protected from wiretapping. Yes, theoretically, you can assemble such a device yourself if you have a good understanding of electronics, but the real practical need for such a device remains a big question.

Who is wiretapping your smartphone?

You can install wiretapping on your mobile phone using software. To do this, you just need to download and install the software product. Of course, this is easy to do in the absence of the owner of the smartphone. Then the wiretapping itself begins. You can use it through your mobile phone or through a remote service by setting up a personal account on it.

In general, there are two methods of wiretapping - active and passive. The passive version of wiretapping involves the purchase of very expensive equipment. Now such a complex costs from several hundred thousand rubles. The range of such a device is about five hundred meters.

The active method, at first glance, is much simpler and requires the presence of a cell phone and a computer. Such a complex becomes an intermediary between the subscriber and the base station. It, so to speak, displaces the base station signal and moves it towards itself. It requires specially trained personnel to work with it.

Listening to SIM cards of different operators

Depending on the cellular operator used and the region of residence, secret combinations for checking wiretapping may differ. Below are the most famous mobile operators and codes to disable listening.

In Ukraine (Vodafone, Kyivstar, Lifecell)

To check and disable wiretapping from a specific cellular operator in Ukraine, the combination *777# . Enter this code in the dialing field and click on the call button. Within a few seconds, the screen will display information about the current balance, as well as the operator menu. In it, pay attention to the items related to call forwarding. You can turn off wiretapping using one of the methods presented at the very beginning.

In Russia and other CIS countries (Megafon, VimpelCom, Beeline, MTS)

As for operators in Russia and the CIS countries, the situation here is a little more complicated, since a universal combination does not always work. Here is the basic procedure for the most popular mobile operators:

• MTS . Send an SMS message with the text “ Help MTS Search ” to the short number 3322. In response, you will receive detailed instructions with a list of commands. But in short, you need to enter the number to which the forwarding is being carried out in order to add it to the so-called “black list”.
• Megaphone . Send an SMS with the required number to 000888.
• Beeline . To disable forwarding, send a short message with the text “ STOP ” to 5166.

Let us remind you that to check whether forwarding is enabled, use the combination *#21#.

What data can be obtained through wiretapping?

Installing a wiretap on a phone can serve not only to intercept information. In some cases, it can even save lives.

Many wiretapping programs can not only eavesdrop on conversations, but also perform broader actions in relation to the owner of the phone. For example, they can recognize the location of the person being tracked, immediately copy the SMS message sent by him and record the call.

What data can be obtained using wiretapping?

What information do scammers need:

• find out the location of the owner and his route;
• the content of all telephone conversations, both online and recorded.
• phone book and contacts of everyone the owner of the smartphone is talking to;
• what programs or files were downloaded;
• what pages on the Internet the user visited;
• pages on social networks. All information posted on them.

Of course, a lot depends on the installed program. Basically, paid programs have a wide range of features.

How to remove wiretapping from your phone?

You can remove wiretapping from your phone in the following ways:

1. Remove malicious applications using special software. It is not recommended to do this through the standard “Settings” - there is a high probability that traces of spyware modules will be saved in the smartphone’s memory.
2. If it's a hardware issue, get rid of the bug by removing it yourself or taking the phone to a service center. As already mentioned, most often the equipment is mounted externally - on the battery, under it or near the SIM card slots, so finding it will not be difficult.
3. If forwarding of voice calls and SMS is enabled, disable it using the USSD command and convincingly ask the owner of the third-party number not to do this again.

Tip: You can completely get rid of spyware modules distributed as mobile applications by resetting your phone to factory settings. This will also destroy all user data, so passwords and important documents should be saved in the cloud or copied to external storage.

Question answer

There is also a legal side to the issue. After all, wiretapping can be carried out not only by criminals, but also by law enforcement agencies, on completely legal grounds. In any case, you need to know who and why installed surveillance on your device.

In what cases can the Ministry of Internal Affairs initiate wiretapping?

To establish surveillance of an individual there must be very compelling reasons. As a rule, “a person begins to be herded” by a court decision. Or he is a defendant (or witness) in a high-profile case. Most often, these are serious violations of the criminal code.

Why me

Do not panic if many indirect reasons indicate wiretapping. In most of them, it all comes down to a simple breakdown of the smartphone, or the operation of a phishing application. The latter is aimed at stealing the user’s personal data and information for the purpose of subsequent blackmail.

Now, in the age of digital technology, it is not necessary to monitor a cell phone; it is easier to use a directional microphone, a listening device at home or in the car, radio interception and other spy things.

Before becoming paranoid, go to a specialized workshop and determine the reason for the gadget’s incomprehensible behavior. If your phone number is wiretapped, it is better to contact law enforcement yourself to clarify the situation.

If you are worried about advertising pursuing you. For example, when you said out loud that you want to buy something, and immediately begin to receive offers about this product in the form of targeted advertising. Don’t worry too much about this, it’s not spyware, but just an advertising script for collecting information.

It is possible to detect surveillance from amateurs, husbands, wives who want to check a loved one for infidelity or something like that. You can’t escape the state; if you’ve messed up big time, they’ll get you sooner or later.

Signs of phone tapping

Detecting wiretapping on your phone (especially on a smartphone) is quite difficult. Moreover, a mobile device can be tapped even when it is turned off. But, there are several signs that can be used to identify the presence of eavesdropping.

1. Unknown interference. The smartphone starts to lose noise, for no apparent reason. During a conversation, extraneous voices are heard and the phone crackles.
2. The battery drains very quickly, especially if you don’t use your gadget much during the day.
3. If the phone is turned off, it remains warm for a long time.
4. The usual Internet speed decreases.
5. There is background sound if you bring the mobile phone to the switched on speakers.

These are not 100% sure signs. However, noticing them can make you a little worried.