Mobile Networks Distance Themselves From Carrier IQ

The latest buzz that is spreading in Europe is the Carrier IQ and you can be sure it is not for the good reasons. The dispute started when a researcher, Trevor Eckhart, posted evidence that Carrier IQ logs every text message, Google search, and phone number typed and reports back to the phone carrier. Carrier IQ comes pre-installed in most of the mobile phones and is said to be able to measure performance and user experience with no visible impact to customers. The claim is that Android phones send the data back to the carriers and iPhones to Apple. It is still unclear precisely what data is collected from Android phones and how it is transmitted. Carrier IQ is installed in more than 141m handsets worldwide. Eckhart claims that in his HTC device, the program not only recorded information about app activity and battery life, but also records the data as to what key the user presses and the text messages. So it means that malicious software or use of the Carrier IQ product might be used to monitor someone's use of the device. But Carrier IQ claims that no data has been recorded and no data has been sold to third parties. The company decided to sue Eckhart for disclosing the Carrier IQ training manuals online but Electronic Frontier Foundation declared its support for the researcher and said that he had the right to discuss it publicly. So Carrier IQ was forced to drop the matter hastily. Verizon, US Cellular, Vodafone, Orange and O2 deny using Carrier IQ. Phones such as Google Nexus Phones, original Motorola XOOM are also away from any such problems.  Sprint and AT&T have admitted to using it.



In US a large number of phones have the software installed in it but at the request of the mobile networks. An HTC spokesperson maintained that the handsets in Europe remain unaffected.

Carrier IQ said in its press release, “Consumers have a trusted relationship with Operators and expect their personal information and privacy to be respected. As a condition of its contracts with Operators, CIQ operates exclusively within that framework and under the laws of the applicable jurisdiction. The data we gather is transmitted over an encrypted channel and secured within our customers’ networks or in our audited and customer-approved facilities.”

Once rumors that even Nokia had Carrier IQ installed emerged, The Company gave out its press release: "Nokia is aware of inaccurate reports which state that software from Carrier IQ has been found on Nokia devices. Carrier IQ does not ship products for any Nokia devices, so these reports are wrong."

Following is Apple’s statement regarding the issue: “We stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so.”

As for the UK mobile networks, they say that after privacy concerns were raised in the US over its discovery in Android phones and Apple's iPhone there they have not installed in any mobile handsets.
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