The spy in your pocket knows (almost) all
Cellphones provided sensitive data to former public protector Thuli Madonsela as she compiled her report
Smartphones have become indispensable tools to socialise‚ monitor work e-mails‚ snap selfies‚ browse the internet and chat to loved ones. But all of their computing power and sheer convenience comes with a caveat — they spy on you. Just ask Eskom CEO Brian Molefe‚ Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen or businessperson Ajay Gupta. Their cellphones provided potentially damning evidence to former public protector Thuli Madonsela as she compiled her report‚ State of Capture. The technology used to keep cellphones connected to calls and the internet as they move from place to place can be used to reveal the whereabouts of a person‚ relationships between people and even allow investigators to travel back in time to listen to past conversations. How it works Depending on which cellular network you use‚ your phone is constantly connected to the service provider’s GSM network. The network signals are transmitted to handsets via various cell phone towers acr...
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