Your smartphones can be taken over, says Snowden

Moscow: Edward Snowden is now saying there is little you can do against security devices that can potentially take over your devices, reports BBC. Snowden, a former employee of the US National Security Agency, fled to Moscow in 2013 after leaking to the media details of extensive internet and phone surveillance by his then employer. [caption id=“attachment_2456164” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Edward Snowden/ Reuters[/caption] The report says the former intelligence contractor said UK intelligence agency GCHQ had the power to hack into phones without their owners’ knowledge. Snowden said GCHQ could gain access to a handset by sending it an encrypted text message and use it for such things as taking pictures and listening in. The UK government declined to comment. Readers who click through this link will find a video that relates to Snowden’s latest revelation. He talks about GCHQ’s “Smurf Suite”, a collection of secret intercept capabilities individually named after the little blue imps of Belgian cartoon fame. “Dreamy Smurf is the power management tool which means turning your phone on and off with you knowing,” he said.