NSA and GCHQ target 'leaky' phone apps like Angry Birds to scoop user data

UK Guardian ^ | January 27, 2014 | James Ball

[C19fan]

The National Security Agency and its UK counterpart GCHQ have been developing capabilities to take advantage of "leaky" smartphone apps, such as the wildly popular Angry Birds game, that transmit users' private information across the internet, according to top secret documents.

The data pouring onto communication networks from the new generation of iPhone and Android apps ranges from phone model and screen size to personal details such as age, gender and location. Some apps, the documents state, can share users' most sensitive information such as sexual orientation – and one app recorded in the material even sends specific sexual preferences such as whether or not the user may be a swinger.

[C19fan]

More stuff courtesy of Snowden.

[Black Agnes]

Ping.

[Gaffer]

Well damn...gonna have to delete it I guess.

[Fido969]

That’s nothing - some popular game apps access your computer’s camera and microphone, and send that data to the developers.

[Charles Martel]

Hell, NSA and its overseas counterparts are probably involved in *designing* some of these apps.

[Dallas59]

"Continuous and selective publication of specific techniques and tools lawfully used by NSA to pursue legitimate foreign intelligence targets is detrimental to the security of the United States and our allies – and places at risk those we are sworn to protect."

Like nasty Tea Party Conservatives and people who don't like Obammy...

[The Right wing Infidel]

so they are spying to see if somebody beat there highscore at angry birds?

[I want the USA back]

Now they don’t have to break into your place and plant listening devices in your cable box. Think how much money this saves the government.

[The Right wing Infidel]

and 10 year olds playing angry birds

[Black Agnes]

I’ve wondered this about the ‘free’ apps.

They’d be great IQ tests too under certain circumstances. And that info (problem solving capabilities) are probably uploaded to our giant file in Utah just like everything else.

[null and void]

Damn those Finns!

[GeronL]

Angry Birds Star Wars

I am stuck on level 16

anybody able to help?

[null and void]

[Graewoulf]

ATTENTION SPEAKER BOEHNER:
Impeachment File for the 2014 Impeachment of B. Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro, a documented legal citizen of the Sovereign Nation of Indonesia.

[MeshugeMikey]

what will they do if this REALLY Angers the Birds?

[musicman]

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[for-q-clinton]

Time to get a windows phone. iPhone and Android are too vulnerable to attack.

[Swordmaker]

Time to get a windows phone. iPhone and Android are too vulnerable to attack.

Seeing as how the Angry Birds app is not allowed to access the data claimed in this article unless it is supported by advertising, which is only on the Android version, I think you are going to have to prove that claim for the iPhone. You do know that Angry Birds, free edition, supported by advertising, is the version available for the Windows phone, don't you?

I think the type of data claimed is hype. . .

[for-q-clinton]

Also iPhones are easily hacked by police...they Have a tool the plug into the iPhone and get all the data. No tool exists fir windows phone so windows phone is more secure.

[for-q-clinton]

Oh and on my windows phone its pay angry birds. Not sure which market place you went to. But angry birds is just one of the apps used there are several that track iPhone users. IPhone is way to insecure to use for anything other than games.