Eric Prince's new Phone? "Unplugged"

[JohnO]

https://www.unplugged.com/upphone/

Is there any advantage to a phone of this type?

If this phone existed on Jan 6, 2021 would a Capitol "visitor" not have been discovered via their cell phone signal? Caught inside the geofence. (I don't see that being the case. If your ESN/phone number is traceable back to you then you're nailed!)

Personally I prefer to be unremarkable, a single strand of hay in an enormous hay stack. I know people who put up complicated firewalls/VPNs and the like that I can't help but think could draw attention. e.g. What's going on there? What is that guy trying to hide?

[Default.mp3]

There are certainly some advantages for that phone over your standard Android or iPhone, but at the same time, you could just as easily have a more privacy and/or security minded phone that'll have better hardware, software, and long term support, all while avoiding having to do anything with Eric Prince (I trust people are aware of his close ties with the PRC at this point). A Pixel 8 or 8 Pro with the latest version of GrapheneOS would be a far better choice. Note that very little is known about the Unplugged phone, so you're literally just taking the word of some random corporation that it would be more secure; LibertOS is a proprietary OS, so there is no transparency about it, while the hardware also does not have a well-known supply chain, so we do not know where it is being sourced (it claims it is manufactured in Indonesia, but that does not say anything about where the parts themselves are from, and Indonesia is likely just where final assembly occurs).

The folks being prosecuted for their role in insurrection certainly weren't helped by their phones, but they likely had huge attack surfaces, and a secure phone likely would have minimal impact on overall their prosecution.

Being an unremarkable haystack in terms of security footprint is nothing more than security through obscurity, and is a poor practice in general if that is your primary method of security.

Long story short, hard fucking pass on that phone. If someone gave it to me, I would either try to sell it to buy something better, or just straight up throw it in the trash.

[5pins]

You could just buy a burner phone.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-burner-phone/

[5pins]

There are certainly some advantages for that phone over your standard Android or iPhone, but at the same time, you could just as easily have a more privacy and/or security minded phone that'll have better hardware, software, and long term support, all while avoiding having to do anything with Eric Prince (I trust people are aware of his close ties with the PRC at this point). A Pixel 8 or 8 Pro with the latest version of GrapheneOS would be a far better choice. Note that very little is known about the Unplugged phone, so you're literally just taking the word of some random corporation that it would be more secure; LibertOS is a proprietary OS, so there is no transparency about it, while the hardware also does not have a well-known supply chain, so we do not know where it is being sourced (it claims it is manufactured in Indonesia, but that does not say anything about where the parts themselves are from, and Indonesia is likely just where final assembly occurs).

The folks being prosecuted for their role in insurrection certainly weren't helped by their phones, but they likely had huge attack surfaces, and a secure phone likely would have minimal impact on overall their prosecution.

Being an unremarkable haystack in terms of security footprint is nothing more than security through obscurity, and is a poor practice in general if that is your primary method of security.

Long story short, hard fucking pass on that phone. If someone gave it to me, I would either try to sell it to buy something better, or just straight up throw it in the trash.

I'm going to try this on my next phone.

[Le Français]

So, some characters reknowned for unscrupulously doing various governments’ dirty work are trying to sell a phone which they pinky promise will keep your data secure?

In related news, I hear there’s an admiral in the Swiss Navy who’s looking for investors to build a ski resort in the Florida Keys.

[jh9]

So, some characters reknowned for unscrupulously doing various governments’ dirty work are trying to sell a phone which they pinky promise will keep your data secure?

I'm sure it's totally fine. It doesn't seem familiar at all.

The FBI's sales pitch to alleged criminals was that these were security-focused devices (so please use them to document your illegal activities!), and that involved a lot of fun security theater. A "pin scrambling" feature would swap around the order of the lock screen numbers so that no one could guess your code from screen smudges.

Two different interfaces would launch depending on what PIN you typed in on the lock screen. PIN one would show a bunch of popular but non-functional apps, like Tinder, Instagram, Facebook, Netflix, and Candy Crush. Presumably, this was meant to fool any third parties checking out your phone.

A second PIN would enter what was supposed to be the secure section of the phone, showing three apps: a clock, calculator, and the settings. From here, the "calculator" app actually opened a login screen to Anom, which targets were told was a secure, encrypted way to chat. This was basically the smartphone equivalent of a fake book triggering a bookshelf to slide over, revealing a secret passage. It's so secret, it has to be secure!

[camel]

There are certainly some advantages for that phone over your standard Android or iPhone, but at the same time, you could just as easily have a more privacy and/or security minded phone that'll have better hardware, software, and long term support, all while avoiding having to do anything with Eric Prince (I trust people are aware of his close ties with the PRC at this point). A Pixel 8 or 8 Pro with the latest version of GrapheneOS would be a far better choice. Note that very little is known about the Unplugged phone, so you're literally just taking the word of some random corporation that it would be more secure; LibertOS is a proprietary OS, so there is no transparency about it, while the hardware also does not have a well-known supply chain, so we do not know where it is being sourced (it claims it is manufactured in Indonesia, but that does not say anything about where the parts themselves are from, and Indonesia is likely just where final assembly occurs).

The folks being prosecuted for their role in insurrection certainly weren't helped by their phones, but they likely had huge attack surfaces, and a secure phone likely would have minimal impact on overall their prosecution.

Being an unremarkable haystack in terms of security footprint is nothing more than security through obscurity, and is a poor practice in general if that is your primary method of security.

Long story short, hard fucking pass on that phone. If someone gave it to me, I would either try to sell it to buy something better, or just straight up throw it in the trash.

A lot of people aren’t that tech savvy or people knowing. Just sayin.

[Stephanie B]

Princess Sparkle Pony's House of War Crimes and Cell Phones.

(Costs money to live in Dubai.)

[feudist]

You could just buy a burner phone.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-burner-phone/

I don't think that would do more than stall the outcome.
I have complete faith in the ability of the Panopticon's minions to locate anyone and everyone eventually by sheer brute digital force. A warrant here, some coercion there, a wink is as good as a nod...and piss the right person/party/agency off and you will be Exampled.
Factor in the complete inability to exercise 4th amendment rights, juries who are either Woke AF or/and fear the Dial-a-Mob, the late casual use of nukes on lawyers representing certain defendants and the scorched earth prosecutorial enthusiasm for colllateral damage, complete and willing media dominance...
The Sword and the Shield of the Party never had it so good.