05/04/2011 - "Who Owns Your Cell Phone?"

The first part of this talk examines the fact that a cellphone, by itself, is useless; without the cooperation of the operator, the sales and service network, subsidies and the like, it would be an expensive and useless brick. As cellphones become more like computers, they rely more and more on diverse infrastructure, and many of the players have conflicting goals. Much frustration can be traced to this tension.

The second part of the talk examines the fact that, as phones become much more like computers, they become targets for
hacking and various kinds of attacks on their security. (Hackers refer to "owning" their targets.) We examine some of the security issues and possible consequences of a breach.