Edward Snowden’s new app turns any Android phone into a surveillance system
Edward Snowden’s new app turns any Android phone into a surveillance system
Haven, now in public beta, turns any Android smartphone into a sensitive security system. Haven is an open source app that will run on any Android phone, particularly inexpensive and older devices.It’s primarily intended to be installed on a secondary phone — say, last year’s model — which then takes photos and records sound of any activity in a room where it’s placed. Haven will then send alerts of any intrusion to a user’s primary phone over encrypted channels.
The app was developed by The Guardian Project, Freedom Of The Press and Snowden to offer eyes and ears to prevent, or at least increase awareness, of whether a device has been tampered with
The announcement for the app says it’s designed “for investigative journalists, human rights defenders,” and others who might be targeted by powerful enemies. According to The Verge, Snowden was encouraged to develop the app by a lawyer who fought to bring down Chadian dictator Hissene Habre.
One commonly cited use case for Haven is protecting laptops holding sensitive information, which can be relatively easily compromised if someone gains physical access. Snowden, who lives in Russia because he faces espionage charges in the United States, has adopted extensive personal security measures himself, and reportedly doesn’t even carry a smartphone anymore.
So, for example, you’d set up a burner Android device in a hotel safe alongside your laptop. Haven could then be set to broadcast any audio or movement, basically if anyone opened the safe it will snap a photo, record audio and detect motion. Alerts can be sent via SMS, Signal or to a Tor-based website.
No comments