Spyware on your cell phone?

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From Tom Slovenski, of Cellular Forensics

How do you protect a client and their information from thieving eyes and stalking ex-lovers?  How do you protect your own phone as well.  Here are a few simple tips.

1. Never let anyone you do not know use your cell phone.  Don’t loan it out.
2. If the phone is lost or stolen and  then recovered, do not use it to transmit sensitive date until it has been thoroughly checked by a cellular professional as it could have become infected.
3. Turn off the “Bluetooth” when not is use. There is no need for an “open door” when you are not using a secure headset. For added security, use a wired headset.
4. Do not accept any connection with which you are not familiar.  If you are sitting in a Starbucks and your phone is asking permission to hook on to a device with which you are not familiar…refuse the connection.
5. Do not open attachments from a party you do not know
6. Password protect your phone. This will eliminate 95% of problems. If the phone is locked down, the bad guy can’t get into it.

What if the person thinks the phone is already “bugged”? What are some of the signs?

1. Are there too many “coincidences” in the client’s life? Is the information being transmitted from their phone seemingly winding up in someone else’s  hands. In a conversation, does the other party relate confidential information you did not disclose to them?
2. Was the phone recently lost and then recovered?
3. Has the person recently been through a traumatic experience with an ex-lover, spouse or business partner?
4. Is the person in the midst of a highly charged court battle?
5. Is the battery area hot to the touch? (The extra transmissions of the spyware to the other party pulls on the battery power)
6. Does the battery drain quicker than it used to? (Again, more transmissions, less power)
7. Does the phone light up for no reason?

For the complete article, see PI Magazine, June 2009 edition, or Tom’s website, www.cellularforensics.com, then click on Articles.