Android and iOS settings for better security and privacy

smeg, 1 year ago

Looks like a good “best practices” sort of list. Would be nice if there was a bit more explanation as to why some of them are recommended (just because it’s good to understand why you’re disabling something rather than blindly following a guide), but still good!

awwwyissss, 1 year ago

Agreed. Disable 2G? Why? That might cost me connectivity in some places and I won’t remember to turn it back on.

smeg, 1 year ago

To add to that other (much more in-depth) comment, I remember reading on the GrapheneOS FAQs that disabling everything you’re not actively using will generally improve security as you’re reducing the number of potential ways for an attacker to get in (phrases like “attack vectors” and “surface area” were used).

On a separate note I didn’t even know 2G towers were still active anywhere; they’re shutting down the 3G ones here!

ForgottenFlux, 1 year ago

I’m not the writer of the article, but here’s an answer you can find on running a quick search.

According to this article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF):

What is 2G and why is it vulnerable?

2G is the second generation of mobile communications, created in 1991. It’s an old technology that at the time did not consider certain risk scenarios to protect its users. As years have gone, many vulnerabilities have been discovered in 2G and it’s companion SS7.

The primary problem with 2G stems from two facts. First, it uses weak encryption between the tower and device that can be cracked in real time by an attacker to intercept calls or text messages. In fact, the attacker can do this passively without ever transmitting a single packet. The second problem with 2G is that there is no authentication of the tower to the phone, which means that anyone can seamlessly impersonate a real 2G tower and your phone will never be the wiser.

Cell-site simulators sometimes work this way. They can exploit security flaws in 2G in order to intercept your communications. Even though many of the security flaws in 2G have been fixed in 4G, more advanced cell-site simulators can take advantage of remaining flaws to downgrade your connection to 2G, making your phone susceptible to the above attacks. This makes every user vulnerable—from journalists and activists to medical professionals, government officials, and law enforcement.

awwwyissss, 1 year ago

I appreciate that, thanks 🙏🏻 now I’m considering disabling 2G.