Doble: ‘Hello Garci’ wiretap ops done through Smart mole

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Asked if the telecom management knew about the wiretapping, Doble said in Filipino that, “Agents conduct what we call spotting. They look for people they can recruit. That’s how it starts. Agents study the people whom they can approach, what their weaknesses are, what they like, where they live. Weak points are identified.”

However, Doble said it was possible that the owners of Smart Communications did not know that wiretapping had been conducted through its technology or personnel.

“Maybe [the owners don't know] … we just need a technical [employee] in Smart,” Doble said.

He said the implications of the wiretapping operations were far-reaching. “Walang imposible basta tinarget kayo, asahan niyo na yun (Nothing’s impossible as long as you’re a target, expect to be wiretapped.”

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Cell phone security has at least one flaw: People

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For example, the Symbian operating system for mobile phones is “fairly secure,” F-Secure security expert Patrik Runald said last week. Yet security is a problem.

“All the malware we’ve seen so far relies on the user installing it themselves, bypassing three to four security warnings. So there hasn’t really been a flaw in the operating system,” he said.

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Smart denies it helped wiretap Arroyo

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The telecom giant, the cellular service provider of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., doesn’t have the “highly restricted equipment” needed to conduct even a court-sanctioned wiretapping operation, according to Smart corporate communications chief Ramon Isberto.

Isberto issued a denial shortly after former Technical Sergeant Vidal Doble, who used to be with the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), told reporters that ISAFP had “somebody from Smart” to help spy on both administration and administration personalities in the 2004 elections.

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SMiShing, Battery Draining and SMS Interception – Three New Attacks Threaten Mobile Phones

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Historically, it has been considered overkill to have anti-virus software running on mobile phones but that may change in the not too distant future as more and more threats emerge. In the meantime, it pays to be vigilant and to remember that your mobile is really a mini-computer and may be susceptible to the same kind of threat and socially engineered exploits that can compromise your personal security in much the same way as they can on your PC.

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