Flaw in Qualcomm modems enables backdoor for hackers to record your phone calls

07 May 2021
Up to 30% of all smartphone users worldwide could be affected.

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  • Investi
  • S3c
  • 15 May 2021

Always these critical security issues and intentional backdoors in Qualcomm products, year after year... and they keep saying that chinese tech products are unsafe. Qualcomm is not secure, that much is certain.

    A "flaw" i'm sure ... but hey it's Huawei who's spying according to trustworthy 'Murica

      Private , 09 May 2021Now what a surprise. Hahah yeah no surprise there. That’s w... moreIt's the same with any tech product or software, there are always gonna be exploits and hackers. I'm guessing you're an iPhone user? Here's a list of security vulnerabilities in iOS, macOS and iPad OS: https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-49/product_id-15556/Apple-Iphone-Os.html

      All of the ones in red were times when attackers have "Total information disclosure, resulting in all system files being revealed.", and "a total compromise of system integrity. There is a complete loss of system protection, resulting in the entire system being compromised.", it happens with everything, including Apple, not just Android.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • 7X2
        • 10 May 2021

        Hh, 09 May 2021Proud exinos/kirin user.Considering Samaung also like MediaTek dont release source code, it could have multiple backdoors if like the US Government wants to spy on certain individual. Kirin is banned so nvm.

          Yeah well that's the problem when you only offer your clients 1 or 2 software updates. One can't just depend on the security patches to help. Oh well you get what you ask for. Not to be funny but surely in 2021 this problem can be sorted out. Or is android again just we don care.

            • P
            • Private
            • NsB
            • 09 May 2021

            Now what a surprise. Hahah yeah no surprise there. That’s why I would never use android for any reason. Can’t even keep there users DATA save

              • d
              • dj
              • mhx
              • 09 May 2021

              Bad luck will you do ever receive a security update on your Android phone

              Google is just so pathetic with all promises the thing it will never happen

                *Tips tinfoil hat*, It seems that the typical "NSA backdoor" baked in hardware has been found. All the while we're being brainwashed that China = bad. Should US ban Qualcomm now? OMEGALUL.

                Counterpoint:
                This was the advantage of releasing proper source code to developers which were easily accessible without non-disclosure orders (cough... MTK... cough!). Is this bad? Yes, but this will easily be patch by the community and by Qualcomm themselves. This is the proper way of making software/hardware better. Let others criticise your work, you'll be surprised how much you can improve when there were people that actually aimed to find loopholes in your logic design.

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                  • AnonD-909757
                  • pZV
                  • 09 May 2021

                  Downtown NY Grinder, 08 May 20214 years ago my uncle went through hell just because he'... morePeople always laugh at privacy thinking it is just a less than handsome, and overweight nerd who doesn't want to be seen on the toilet, until they fall victim of identity thief or blackmail or minority/social/ethnic group targeting...

                  This website main points say it all :
                  https://www.identityforce.com/blog/identity-theft-odds-identity-theft-statistics

                  *In 2019, 14.4 million consumers became victims of identity fraud — that’s about 1 in 15 people
                  *Overall, 33 percent of U.S. adults have experienced identity theft, which is more than twice the global average
                  *More than one in four older adults, aged 55 and over, have experienced identity theft
                  *One in five victims of identity theft have experienced it more than once
                  *Over 1 million children in the U.S. were victims of identity theft in 2017, costing families $540 million in out-of-pocket expenses
                  *There’s a new victim of identity theft every 2 seconds
                  *Children are 51 times more likely to be a victim of identity theft than adults
                  *Identity theft is the most common consequence of a data breach, occurring 65% of the time
                  *There were 164 million exposed records in 2019, and data breaches increased by 17%
                  *Consumers lost more than $56 billion to identity theft and fraud in 2020
                  *Taxpayers lost over $200 billion to unemployment identity theft and COVID-19 relief fraud since March 2020
                  *Consumers reported over $400 million lost to coronavirus scams and identity fraud since January 2020
                  *Over 70% of COVID scams include identity theft or fraud
                  *Emotional distress is reported by 77.3 percent of identity theft victims

                  In other words, if your chances of winning the lottery were 1 in 15, as are the odds of being an ID theft victim, we’d all have family, friends, and colleagues who are millionaires.


                  So many ways to get our identity stolen, from fishing to man in the middle attack, or simply a database with sensitive information being forced.
                  But I want to get back to this point :
                  "Identity theft is the most common consequence of a data breach, occurring 65% of the time"
                  That clearly say how important is privacy and why I advocate for pop up cameras and microphones physical kill switches.
                  And this one :
                  "Emotional distress is reported by 77.3 percent of identity theft victims"
                  Proving HOW SERIOUS it is, many lives are regularly utterly RUINED because of this, and those who think it isn't a big deal having spent their time constantly having to prove they are themselves and make sure they ALWAYS have good alibi and prove they aren't the one who did X or Y illegal thing or even crimes that could make them spend years or even lifetime in jail.
                  https://www.credit.com/blog/how-being-a-victim-of-identity-theft-could-land-you-in-jail-76351/?amp

                  But here we are still with people laughing at us saying "iT iS cOnSpIrAcY tHeOrY" or that privacy doesn't matter, or that "how many chances it can happen to you" or "why would they care about you".
                  Turn out it is FACTS, privacy is actually also about defending ourselves against dictatorship that ANY country can suddenly fall into, it has 1 chances out of 15 to happen to someone, and that it is EXACTLY because we are random people that it can happen to us.

                    • D
                    • AnonD-909757
                    • pZV
                    • 09 May 2021

                    Carol, 08 May 2021Another smart one, if you build something out of patriotism... moreOh, you mean like Intel who paid a group to find exploits in AMD CPU?
                    https://hothardware.com/news/amd-processors-past-decade-zen-vulnerable-side-channel-attack

                    Being ignorant isn't a crime, but it isn't an excuse neither, if you don't know better refrain from disrespecting someone.
                    You really think no study like that are independent, from a different country or paid/put in place by a different/rival company?
                    There is not a single article or source stating that Qualcomm were the one asking for that test.
                    There are many reasons to do those tests, including the fact that they probably get paid for each flaw they discover, which by itself make it a profitable thing to do independently.
                    And Check Point Research isn't Korean nor American, it is Israeli.
                    Do you really think that, even if Qualcomm asked them to test their chips, they will give a list of backdoors that are probably highly classified?
                    And maybe this backdoor was already compromised or too old, or discovered/exploited by another country.
                    And if a backdoor is found, it probably mean it wasn't good enough, or it is time to change it, maybe this patch actually enable the actual backdoor or disable this one while enabling another one.

                    You know absolutely nothing about that, the fact you talked about drones just show it, do you even realize how many things are accessible through your phone?
                    A drone is expensive, people WILL spot it eventually, and it can do only so much at once and will only see what someone does outside, and OBVIOUSLY that I am talking about mass surveillance and not individual one, and your carrier doesn't know what you have IN your phone, only things that go through your connection and that AREN'T encrypted, which is what HTTPS websites do.

                    Meanwhile, we can use Wi-Fi to track someone inside :
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGZzNZnYIHo
                    Gyro and accelerometers to register PC's individual key's strokes, or if they want to personally put a device they can see what's on your monitor using your home electric and plumbing and more.
                    https://cse.sc.edu/~wyxu/719Spring12/papers/US-vibr-Phone.pdf
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWbLMDlV-9M
                    And other things you don't even realize, some are quoted in this video :
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9PqVcgT1kQ
                    Maybe now you'll understand a little better why Smartphone are a great target for spying and getting FAR more than just SMS, MMS and Text or browsing history.

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                      • Dc
                      • KAd
                      • 09 May 2021

                      Hh, 09 May 2021Proud exinos/kirin user.Exynos is a scrap

                        • H
                        • Hh
                        • uNe
                        • 09 May 2021

                        Proud exinos/kirin user.

                          • S
                          • Subalien
                          • Y9C
                          • 09 May 2021

                          Qualcomm working for the illuminatis

                            • I
                            • Investi
                            • S3c
                            • 09 May 2021

                            Same thing as 5 years ago:
                            https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/qualcomm-security-threat-news/

                            Same "bug" keeps appearing in Qualcomm chipsets over and over again. Not really a coincidence...

                              • H
                              • Hey
                              • 63x
                              • 09 May 2021

                              Downtown NY Grinder, 08 May 20214 years ago my uncle went through hell just because he'... moreSad story but let me ask, did your uncle, a computer engineer not use such a simple tool as a vpn?

                              How can you be sure he didn't go on suspicious websites? And what was his router brand and did he turn it off at night?

                                • I
                                • Investi
                                • S3c
                                • 09 May 2021

                                Intentional backdoor. It's amazing how many critical security issues are discovered in Qualcomm chipsets compared to f.ex. Mediatek and Exynos.

                                If your phone has a Qualcomm chipset then it is not secure, period.

                                  AlienKiss, 08 May 2021So what? If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't wo... moreLol, don't cry to us if your bank accounts got hacked. 😏

                                    One of many US deliberate backdoors and take a wild guess it affects 70% of all mobiles (including iOS).

                                      that is intentional back door.
                                      the news are about unintentional back door.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-996040
                                        • YUU
                                        • 08 May 2021

                                        Anonymous, 07 May 2021iPhones use Qualcomm modems so it's not just phones wi... moreSorry, my iPhone 11 used Intel modem 😇