Mobile Devices Banned From UK Cabinet Meetings Over Surveillance Fears 116
MightyMartian writes "British securities services fear foreign intelligence agencies have developed the ability to turn mobile devices such as phones and tablets into bugs without the owner's knowledge, allowing them to eavesdrop on confidential meetings. According to the article, UK security services fear China, Russia and Pakistan have figured out a way to turn mobiles into microphones, and have them transmit even when they're off. Ministers in sensitive government departments have been issued with soundproof lead-lined boxes, which they must place their mobiles in when having sensitive conversations."
Funny thing about chips designed in Cambridge (Score:4, Interesting)
Funniest thing about backdoors is that almost every mobile device in the world has an ARM chip, designed in Cambridge, UK. That's Cambridge as in MI5 open recruiting ground and MI6 clandestine recruiting ground [varsity.co.uk].
Devices manufactured in China, using a British-designed chip, routed through British Telecom using Huawei [theregister.co.uk] equipment... as you said, what could possibly go wrong?
If I were the conspiratorial sort, I might have reason to suspect Cambridge-recruited personnel of working for the other side [wikipedia.org].