One Secret Text Gives any Police State Agency Total Control of Your Phone Even When Its OffBy Jay Syrmopoulos Its called an exploit, Snowden said. Thats a specially crafted message thats texted to your number like any other text message but when it arrives at your phone its hidden from you. It doesnt display. You paid for [the phone] but whoever controls the software owns the phone, he added. Smartphone users can do very little to stop security services getting total control over their devices, according to Snowden. The Smurf Suite package arrives by text messages, without users ever being aware of the message or its payload, as the phone is not altered in any way, according to Snowden. Dreamy Smurf: A power management tool, which allows the phone to be powered on and off without the user knowing. Nosey Smurf: A hotmic tool that allows the microphone on a phone to be turned on, even if the phone is powered off. Tracker Smurf: A geo-location tool that tracks a person with much greater precision than the typical triangulation of cellphone towers. Paranoid Smurf: Covers the tracks of the breach of phone security, as to not allow even a phone security expert to recognize that the device has been tampered with upon inspection. Snowden said the spy agency could see who you call, what youve texted, the things youve browsed, the list of your contacts, the places youve been, the wireless networks that your phone is associated with. And they can do much more. They can photograph you, he said. According to a report in the Daily Dot: The NSA, which Snowden said provided tasking and direction for GCHQs use of these tools, reportedly has comparable mobile surveillance capabilities, but it is unknown if the U.S. agency deploys it through a hidden text message like its British counterpart. The NSA and its partners in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance exploited flaws in a popular mobile app to gain access to phones running that software and searched for ways to hack into popular app markets. GCHQ and the NSA also tried for years to break into Blackberry devices, with an analyst celebrating their eventual success in March 2010 by writing Champagne! Snowden, who has been living in exile in Russia since June 2013, has been charged by the U.S. with espionage and theft of government property after leaking documents to the media about widespread digital surveillance. During the interview Snowden said that he would like to eventually return to the U.S., and would be willing to serve prison time for his massive data breach, but that he would not be willing to do so if he was being charged under the Espionage Act. The heroic acts of Edward Snowden stand as a testament as to what it means to be truly willing to sacrifice for an ideal. Image Credit Jay Syrmopoulos is an investigative journalist, free thinker, researcher, and ardent opponent of authoritarianism. He is currently a graduate student at University of Denver pursuing a masters in Global Affairs. Jays work has been published on Ben Swanns Truth in Media, Truth-Out, AlterNet, InfoWars, MintPressNews and maany other sites. You can follow him on Twitter @sirmetropolis, on Facebook at Sir Metropolis and now on tsu This stuff makes me want to go back to my 1999 Motorola phone with a crappy LCD display. Whether youre paranoid or not, theyre still watching you. Im still using my flip phone from 2000.However, ATT sent me a message saying they will no longer support 2 G network come end of 2016. I have to upgrade.NOT!!!I am cutting ties with the phone. going back to a more simple time in my lifeonce the 2G is gone, of course den deyr bees Negroe Smurf dat keep puttin black fokes in you life even if you dont want dem 