[LINK] US Gov: making a panic button app

[Roger Clarke]

>On 2011/Apr/01, at 8:24 AM, Roger Clarke wrote:
>>  Scenario B:
>>  If the threat is the government, they already have access to all of
>>  the communications-related data that's flowed through the device -
>>  and hence can reconstruct most and maybe all of the address-book -
>>  either through taps, or retention, or Google's archives.  (And that's
>>  probably why they came to arrest you in the first place).

At 9:02 +1100 1/4/11, Kim Holburn wrote:
>In some US states and probably other places like Australia? UK? 
>police can search your phone without a warrant, but to access all 
>those other things and reconstruct what your phone might have had 
>would take warrants and resources and time.

Agreed, but if they have the power to arrest you, then they probably 
have the power to access those things (whether the power exists at 
law, is achieved through a self-issued warrant, or is gained by means 
of a judicial warrant).


>>  Scenario C:
>>  The app creates a new vulnerability.  It won't take long for the
>>  first piece of malware to be delivered that enables remote invocation
>>  of the app.
>
>Not to mention a slip of the finger.  "Dad, what does this button do?"

Damn, missed that one.

I guess it would help if I actually owned a device of this kind  (:-)}


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
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Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University