Develop Bugs

HUGE security flaw

Anyone else uneasy that no matter what if someone finds your phone they can hook up to pc and have access to your internal storage?? Is there no way to change this and have a charge only option under usb?

If someone has your phone plugged into their computer, you either:
1) Are with them
2) Had your phone stolen.
If you have your phone stolen, there's nothing stopping them from battery pulling, going into recovery, and getting all your data from there (granted you're rooted).

Still ide rather not anyone including nosey friends get the pics of my ding dong off my phone with out my permission...
All kidding aside you see my point right

It's very simple, set a passcode and MTP does not show any data until the phone is unlocked.

beast67x said:
Still ide rather not anyone including nosey friends get the pics of my ding dong off my phone with out my permission...
All kidding aside you see my point right
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I typically prefer nekkids of my gf on my phone vs sausage but to each their own

This is why you should likely have the ability to remote-wipe your device (via Software), and why you need to ponder very carefully what data you keep on your phone. The easiest way to avoid your friends finding pictures you'd rather they don't see is not to keep those pictures on your phone in the first place.
There are encryption-based Lockboxes which function on the Galaxy Nexus, and it does actually support Full-Disk encryption (with many bugs and downsides), but in short, you need to assume that anything on your phone is accessible to anybody who cares enough to take it from you. Remember, security never buys you safety against others getting your data, it just gives you time to respond before they can get access.

Wow how foolish of me. I totally didnt realize and i googled this an apparently no.one else did.either thanks

sluflyer06 said:
I typically prefer nekkids of my gf on my phone vs sausage but to each their own
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahaha its my own sausage i swear.
Seriously though the guy above is correct. Locked my phone, plugged in, and no data shows.until i swipe and enter pin

There are also apps you can download to lock certain apps you don't want opened. (Gallery for instance)
I agree though, the safest and best bet is to set a password on your phone and be done with it!

beast67x said:
Hahaha its my own sausage i swear.
Seriously though the guy above is correct. Locked my phone, plugged in, and no data shows.until i swipe and enter pin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A setting for my Exchange server for my company that i work for reminds me each time setup my phone that they can remote wipe my phone. As can i From our Web Access portal for email. Just another option.
Will

Mine doesn't work that way.
I have a pattern set on my galaxy nexus. If I connect it to my computer the "internal storage" doesn't show up until I unlock the phone.
However, if you lost your phone, there are numerous ways to get your data. This applies to most phones out there
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

move the pics you don't want people to see into a hidden folder then they wont show up in the gallery

I have "gotya" installed. Not only will send me the gps location of my ohone command but also take a pic of the peraon using the phone when.an incorrect pin is entered. Screw wiping my phone ill just go get it myself

[Q] Is our information really secure from theft?

If you are like me, you should have all your favorite apps, documents, pictures etc. stored right on your phone that basically gives a full picture of who you are as an individual. You also have been pretty satisfied with the pattern, pin number, password or face unlock or all of these together as a security you have in place to prevent unauthorized access. But here is something that happened by accident that led me down this thought process. While trying to yank out the phone from my pocket while driving (which when you are getting a phone call especially becomes the most impossible task), I noticed that the phone "Power Down", "Restart", "Airplane Mode" pop up was on. This is on top of my regular swipe to unlock with pin number lock screen. This made me curious and noticed that the back button will work to close this pop up and also the power button works to reactivate this pop up. I hope everyone is with me till here. What surprised me was that the phone will actually turn off or restart from this point without the need for an unlock code. This means anyone with rooting and backup knowledge can steal my phone, restart my phone into recovery and wipe it to make the phone their own or just create a backup (CWM) and through that access my personal information. I know that photos and documents stored on the external card is open unless encrypted. But I hoped the internal data would be secure.
What do you guys think about this? Is there any app that would prevent access to the phone while locked via hard keys? What do you do to keep your information safe?

TL;DR version
If phone is stolen and person has knowledge of android they can factory reset your phone, even if you have a password setup. If they enter recovery they can wipe data and factory reset your phone and now it is usable for them.
My theory if you have your phone rooted I wish there was a way to lock the recovery with a password. Unfortunately ODIN will always be available able to get back to stock. Cerberus is a great app to have full control of phone if stolen FYI

DesperateScorpion151 said:
What do you guys think about this? Is there any app that would prevent access to the phone while locked via hard keys? What do you do to keep your information safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As soon as I realize it is missing I would activate the wipe feature in this software.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lookout&hl=en
If I have your phone in my possession I guarantee I can hack it regardless of any security measure you make take, so the best solution is to be able to wipe it remotely.

technically even a remote wipe is not enough if the thief is knowledgeable. I accidentally wiped flashing in Odin with nand erase checkd and recovered everything that was on it using this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1994705 so your never completely safe

Exactly my point like everyone else confirms it here. We have advanced so much to a point that even a 9 year old (not that 9 is too young to know computer basics) who is familiar with basics on rooting after reading through forums after forums can get away with stealing a smart phone now a days. At this point the only way I could think of protecting my data (first priority) and then track my phone is if the tracker is incorporated into the boot loader or recovery itself on top of what ever software you have installed in the OS. So if the thief tries to unlock my phone after a restart, the installed software should take care of the rest but If he/she is smart enough to go via boot loader or recovery then the incorporated tracker can do its thing. Anything of that sort exists?

Did you forget you could just pull the battery to get into recovery?

Why do you need to pull the battery?

Aerowinder said:
Why do you need to pull the battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't, but its easier than going through all of the steps OP posted.

I really doubt my data is worth anything. Pictures of my cats aren't exactly hot commodities and I don't store anything on my phone that I wouldn't publicly reveal, anyway.
I wouldn't be worried about my worthless information, just annoyed I was dumb enough to let it get stolen. Yeah, I know that basically anyone with half a brain can wipe a phone and re-sell it - it always amazes me when people think that thieves aren't smart enough to do that.
I'm cynical. Saves a lot of worry since I just expect the worst, I guess.

They get into your email where it may be more info to compromise.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

I would be less worried about the minute possibility of a phone thief targeting your personal information than I would be about your personal data being mined from your phone by numerous applications.
Bottom line is, if you use Google or Facebook, you personal information is already in the hands of giant corporations who will never be held accountable for the theft of your personal info.
Take Facebook for example - within the app, the only time it should ever ping your location is if you are using FB chat and have the location setting enabled. However, even when you disable location within FB chat, every single time you open Facebook it uses your GPS to get your location. Every time.
In addition, although you are unable to see it in action because there is no notification icon for it, I would bet a million bucks it's also pulling your network location if your GPS is off.
Facebook is constantly working in the background - even if you never opened it.
Google? I won't even begin to try and explain the amount of data they are collecting from you. As is T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, ATT, etc. every single second that your phone is on with data enabled.
Should we be concerned with some random thief who knows the ins and outs of Android pulling your data? Sure, we should think about it. But the reality is, if you own a smart phone your information is already out there in the hands of companies who will use it to any end they can in order to turn a profit. Period.

ButWhile I see the pros and cons of different parts involved in using social networks and so forth, one thing we can (at least for now) be certain of is that they won't use your credit card information etc. to make illegal purchases and so forth. I know of a person who routinely used the credit card app to check balance, pay bill etc. and next thing he was getting phone calls to see if the purchases made at a casino in Spain are OK?! This is without ever losing the phone!!. So, it could be worse in the case of phone loss. Sure, personal data, pictures and even email to some extent is not as bothersome to me as identity theft. Thank to some anti-fraud features of the banks etc. one can deny and simply not be associated with that activity (of course in legitamate cases). My friend ended up getting another card with different number and they closed the online banking account. He had to re-register all over with another id. So, it can be a big hassle. I heard of cases where people had to hire lawyers and run around courts to prove their innocence due to identity theft. Of course if you keep a picture of your driving licence on the phone, you are really asking for it so... (trust me, one girl was doing this because she didn't want to carry her purse/wallet on night outs)
Having said that, I am always worried if the roms we download here in XDA have trojans or backdoors built into kernels and system files... I know that it is like doubting even the good devs but how do we know for sure? Unless you are really an in-depth expert and figure out all the details such as processes and ports that are open and so forth, how do you really know? The phone's data icons keep pinging back and forth every now and then and at times I wonder what's being sent and what is it receiving... just sync'ing contacts...or...??
Call me paranoid but, after what happened to my friend, and similar stories, I am a bit skeptical about the security and integrity of the ROMs in the first place... Now, mostly I download and try different roms and settle on one that suits my preferences. I use the phone for calls as well as to make general tasks easier in many aspects except financial transactions. In short, I don't trust my smart phones.
For those of you wondering what Google is tracking, (not by any means the only place to look) login to your gmail account and look around different settings. You'll see web history, phone data to name a few..

[Q] Phone Encryption

Anyone have any experience with encryption on the One? My work email is requiring it and I've heard bad things about speed and battery life on other phones.

ewong90 said:
Anyone have any experience with encryption on the One? My work email is requiring it and I've heard bad things about speed and battery life on other phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a network admin at my work, and I setup our Exchange policy, also requiring encryption on mobile devices. I added my work email to my personal One, and the encryption process took around 30 minutes (rough guess). Only had the phone a few days before I did this, but I haven't really noticed any performance of battery difference. I think this was a problem on older devices, but I've never used encryption previously on my personal devices, so I can't speak for anything else for sure. But, this phone is a beast, no issues for me.
I ran a AnTuTu Benchmark test on the stock ROM (I'm not unlocked ), with the result: 26044.
Attached some photos, 1 of the benchmark, 2 showing proof on the Exchange policy and encryption.
Edit: It wouldn't let my upload more than one image, not sure what's going on...
I have the other pictures saved with same date and time, maybe I can upload them in a few mins.

There exists an app that sandboxes exchange so you can enable all their nonsense but it does not actually touch anything. I do not remember what it is called sadly.

Putting your work exchange email on your personal phone is a dumb move. As soon as you do this you no longer "own" your phone, your employer does. They can fully wipe your phone at any time. People need to stop allowing this practice entirely. If your work requires you to have exchange email on a mobile device, make them provide it. Stop using YOUR device, and footing the bill, for a tool and service that THEY should provide. It's amazing how you get to pay for it, but they want complete control.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

c5satellite2 said:
Putting your work exchange email on your personal phone is a dumb move. As soon as you do this you no longer "own" your phone, your employer does. They can fully wipe your phone at any time. People need to stop allowing this practice entirely. If your work requires you to have exchange email on a mobile device, make them provide it. Stop using YOUR device, and footing the bill, for a tool and service that THEY should provide. It's amazing how you get to pay for it, but they want complete control.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for some people its a personal choice for convenience.
For others, their employer pays their cellphone bill while allowing the employee to choose the device. My wife's work is like that, but they don't seem to require even a secure lockscreen.

Put me on the "Personal Choice" list. I have been running exchange on my devices for years for my corporate email. No encryption forced but the security does require a pass-code. The other option would be to carry 2-3 devices...not my cup of tea.

I highly recommend Moxier Mail. My company requires that my entire phone is encrypted and this program was a good way to circumvent this. They have no way to tell that you are using the program. It is a bit pricey, but to fully encrypt a phone can take up to 16 hours depending on what you have.

nrfitchett4 said:
for some people its a personal choice for convenience.
For others, their employer pays their cellphone bill while allowing the employee to choose the device. My wife's work is like that, but they don't seem to require even a secure lockscreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just giving a heads up. Few people are aware that your entire phone can be wiped once you do this.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

Like I said, I'm a network administrator at my work, and I created our Exchange policy, requiring a PIN and encryption. Exchange also has the option to control certain available features on the mobile device, such as the camera, or wifi, as well as preventing unsigned apps on the device. Like others have said, there is also the ability to remotely wipe the device from the Exchange server, or just remove the active sync account from the device.
I agree mostly with the above statements. I do not have a company supplied mobile phone, and don't really need one, but I did choose to have my work email setup on my phone for convenience, and for calendar entries. We do allow staff to add their work email to their own personal device, and that is why these type of options are available, so the company has a better control on the security and privacy of their digital property. I do not feel in any way that because I choose to add my work email to my own personal phone, that it is now company property, and I can remove my account at any time. I do agree, if the company requires you to have your work email on your mobile device, they company should at the very least pay the mobile bill, if not supply the device to begin with.
As far as the encryption, my HTC One took around 30 minutes to encrypt, and I have not seen any performance difference.
Attached are a few shots of the policy properties screen.
Edit: Another shot of the remote wipe screen.

Another thing to note, remote wipe is not necessarily a bad thing. I take some security in knowing I can wipe my device instantly should it go missing. Our setup has the option in the Outlook web interface so end-users can manage the device.
The longest encryption I ever did was an hour. 16 seems way too much but I guess it would depend on the phone and what was on the storage at the time.

calash said:
Another thing to note, remote wipe is not necessarily a bad thing. I take some security in knowing I can wipe my device instantly should it go missing. Our setup has the option in the Outlook web interface so end-users can manage the device.
The longest encryption I ever did was an hour. 16 seems way too much but I guess it would depend on the phone and what was on the storage at the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1, forgot to mention users can also remotely wipe their own device in the OWA.

calash said:
Another thing to note, remote wipe is not necessarily a bad thing. I take some security in knowing I can wipe my device instantly should it go missing. Our setup has the option in the Outlook web interface so end-users can manage the device.
The longest encryption I ever did was an hour. 16 seems way too much but I guess it would depend on the phone and what was on the storage at the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a long time but when you have a 32 gig on storage w/ 32 gig sd card filled with vids, pics, and music it will get take a while for it to go.

What security options do we have?

A little while ago my brother had his iphone6 snatched. Now with Iphone, I know cannot be mounted to usb directly or even via recovery.
I know pin, fingerprint etc block access to the phone. I want to understand about other ways to access internal storage to gain access to photos and any other documents
That makes me ask - What security options we have for android - in particular OP3 (have 2 of them) and how can we make it more secure. ? Both my phones have Blu_spark TWRP + Freedom OS 2.10, if that matters.

Just to share, I found following to be foolproof
- Setup Pin + Fingerpints
- Setup Pin / Password for phone startup
This
- Keeps the device encrypted
- Unable to boot without pin
- Unable to access TWRP without pin
- Doesn't auto-mount on USB connect
Still, it would be interesting to hear about any cons of the above setup.

hyperorb said:
A little while ago my brother had his iphone6 snatched. Now with Iphone, I know cannot be mounted to usb directly or even via recovery.
I know pin, fingerprint etc block access to the phone. I want to understand about other ways to access internal storage to gain access to photos and any other documents
That makes me ask - What security options we have for android - in particular OP3 (have 2 of them) and how can we make it more secure. ? Both my phones have Blu_spark TWRP + Freedom OS 2.10, if that matters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The easiest is to not get it snatched. Or if it does you chase them down and get your phone back. But barring that not alot you can really do and ill explain why.
When someone steals a phone, they dont care about the data on it. They are either gonna sell it or use it. Either way The device has the sim removed with in sec of it being taken and then it is reset or flashed to stock to remove any and all locks. This normally happens within minutes if not seconds of a device being stolen.

zelendel said:
The easiest is to not get it snatched. Or if it does you chase them down and get your phone back. But barring that not alot you can really do and ill explain why.
When someone steals a phone, they dont care about the data on it. They are either gonna sell it or use it. Either way The device has the sim removed with in sec of it being taken and then it is reset or flashed to stock to remove any and all locks. This normally happens within minutes if not seconds of a device being stolen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interestingly that was not the case. They remained in contact and kept on asking for phone passcode; which we did not give.
I'm not aware if its equally east in iPhone to enter into (kind of) fastboot mode and erase entire storage. In such case the loss remains of the phone and nothing else ; specially when we may have financial apps too on the phone.

hyperorb said:
Interestingly that was not the case. They remained in contact and kept on asking for phone passcode; which we did not give.
I'm not aware if its equally east in iPhone to enter into (kind of) fastboot mode and erase entire storage. In such case the loss remains of the phone and nothing else ; specially when we may have financial apps too on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No apple doesn't have the option. Main reason the fbi had to pay to have an iPhone unlocked not to long ago.
Part of the reason I never advise doing any sort of banking on a device as there is just too many security risks. I, mean even android keyboards monitor what you type.

hyperorb said:
A little while ago my brother had his iphone6 snatched. Now with Iphone, I know cannot be mounted to usb directly or even via recovery.
I know pin, fingerprint etc block access to the phone. I want to understand about other ways to access internal storage to gain access to photos and any other documents
That makes me ask - What security options we have for android - in particular OP3 (have 2 of them) and how can we make it more secure. ? Both my phones have Blu_spark TWRP + Freedom OS 2.10, if that matters.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cerberus is a really nice app... You have alot of options sadly it isn't free! But heyy, it's cheap and it's functional! Other then that keep your device encrypted and a boot password should do.

As long as you're not rooted and unlocked, it will be a bit hard for an thieve to have access to your phone. Leaving ADB on, might as well decrease the overall security of the phone.
I for example was given a tablet which had a Google account synced with it, and resetting from recovery only made me renter the credidentials previously used to be able to pass the setup.
My luck was that the guy left ADB on and with a simple command I bypassed the setup screen.

hyperorb said:
Interestingly that was not the case. They remained in contact and kept on asking for phone passcode; which we did not give.
I'm not aware if its equally east in iPhone to enter into (kind of) fastboot mode and erase entire storage. In such case the loss remains of the phone and nothing else ; specially when we may have financial apps too on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about iPhone's but for newer Android phones as long as you are encrypted and have a pin/password set for boot, a thief would just wipe the phone return to stock and sell or use it. 99.9% of the time they just want money so the likely reason they wanted your pass code is they couldn't sell it cause they were blocked from resetting it temporarily. As long they have a physical device and unlimited time they will eventually reset it and get rid of it.

Renosh said:
Not sure about iPhone's but for newer Android phones as long as you are encrypted and have a pin/password set for boot, a thief would just wipe the phone return to stock and sell or use it. 99.9% of the time they just want money so the likely reason they wanted your pass code is they couldn't sell it cause they were blocked from resetting it temporarily. As long they have a physical device and unlimited time they will eventually reset it and get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. If someone steals your device 99.98% of the time it is too use it or sell it. With way your data is meaningless.
As for them wanting your pass code the above is right. But as they couldn't reset it you could have reported it stolen and the police may be able to find it but most of the time they have better things to do then recover a lost cell phone.
I used to work with people that felt with stolen cell phones. I can say the normally. Withing 30 min of a device being stolen the data is gone. And when I say that I mean a complete DOJ style wipe, format and imei change.

zelendel said:
No apple doesn't have the option. Main reason the fbi had to pay to have an iPhone unlocked not to long ago.
Part of the reason I never advise doing any sort of banking on a device as there is just too many security risks. I, mean even android keyboards monitor what you type.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
....so do all iOS keyboards, both first and third party. it's required for them to function
---------- Post added at 09:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 AM ----------
zelendel said:
Exactly. If someone steals your device 99.98% of the time it is too use it or sell it. With way your data is meaningless.
As for them wanting your pass code the above is right. But as they couldn't reset it you could have reported it stolen and the police may be able to find it but most of the time they have better things to do then recover a lost cell phone.
I used to work with people that felt with stolen cell phones. I can say the normally. Withing 30 min of a device being stolen the data is gone. And when I say that I mean a complete DOJ style wipe, format and imei change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is exactly why that semi-recent feature added by google which requires you to log in with the previously added google account in the phone before initial setup following a factory reset is very useful - it makes the phone unusable/unsellable (unless im missing something?)

2x4 said:
....so do all iOS keyboards, both first and third party. it's required for them to function
---------- Post added at 09:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 AM ----------
this is exactly why that semi-recent feature added by google which requires you to log in with the previously added google account in the phone before initial setup following a factory reset is very useful - it makes the phone unusable/unsellable (unless im missing something?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That can easily be bypassed by wiping the data off the device and flash a stock rom to it. The only the the FRP does is prevent them from getting at the data.
No its not really. It's so they can send relevant ads. Those that remember smartphones before Apple or Android knows that it is not really needed.

zelendel said:
That can easily be bypassed by wiping the data off the device and flash a stock rom to it. The only the the FRP does is prevent them from getting at the data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but how can they flash a stock ROM onto the device if the "require PIN before startup" option is selected? how can they flash if recovery has a PIN on it?

2x4 said:
but how can they flash a stock ROM onto the device if the "require PIN before startup" option is selected? how can they flash if recovery has a PIN on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because that is before startup and not the bootloader, even with those set up they normally dont cover download mode or what ever mode that particular OEM uses (not all use the same). In extreme cases with some apps that make it a bit harder or people just dont want to be bothered to mess with things too deeply there are tools available that Will push the update right to the board bypassing all security. Sure its a little extra work but it is a sure bet when you cant get into a device and cant be bothered hunting down getting around it.
Also for the passwords on startup. any password cracker would take out the average password in a matter of min.

This has been very interesting and so much to learn. Thank you all for great inputs.
zelendel said:
I never advise doing any sort of banking on a device as there is just too many security risks. I, mean even android keyboards monitor what you type.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. But then Microsoft too is not clean. Browser , Windows.... That way we can never work.
Puddi_Puddin said:
Cerberus is a really nice app...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have it in all my Androids Very helpful at times, even for non theft purpose..
XDRdaniel said:
Leaving ADB on, might as well decrease the overall security of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Will read more on this.
Renosh said:
for newer Android phones as long as you are encrypted and have a pin/password set for boot, a thief would just wipe the phone return to stock and sell or use it. 99.9% of the time they just want money so the likely reason they wanted your pass code is they couldn't sell it cause they were blocked from resetting it temporarily. As long they have a physical device and unlimited time they will eventually reset it and get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once a phone is lost, there's little chance to get it back. Device loss is one thing and data loss (or rather data access) is another. The later at times can have more problems.
I used to keep my id papers (for ease of printing anywhere as needed) on phone (Nokia N5). Lost that phone .. and till date I hope no one used those to buy services, do illegal stuff. That was a lesson learnt hard way
zelendel said:
With way your data is meaningless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends where you are. There are places where one can avail services in other's name using fake ids or stolen data etc.
2x4 said:
. this is exactly why that semi-recent feature added by google which requires you to log in with the previously added google account in the phone before initial setup following a factory reset is very useful - it makes the phone unusable/unsellable (unless im missing something?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm.. I think I came across that in OP3. Didn't pay attention though.
zelendel said:
Because that is before startup and not the bootloader,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is better to loose one than two. Phone is anyways lost .. so at least we can try secure data. Let them wipe and then get nothing in hand.

hyperorb said:
This has been very interesting and so much to learn. Thank you all for great inputs.
Yes. But then Microsoft too is not clean. Browser , Windows.... That way we can never work.
Have it in all my Androids Very helpful at times, even for non theft purpose..
Thanks. Will read more on this.
Once a phone is lost, there's little chance to get it back. Device loss is one thing and data loss (or rather data access) is another. The later at times can have more problems.
I used to keep my id papers (for ease of printing anywhere as needed) on phone (Nokia N5). Lost that phone .. and till date I hope no one used those to buy services, do illegal stuff. That was a lesson learnt hard way
Depends where you are. There are places where one can avail services in other's name using fake ids or stolen data etc.
Hmm.. I think I came across that in OP3. Didn't pay attention though.
It is better to loose one than two. Phone is anyways lost .. so at least we can try secure data. Let them wipe and then get nothing in hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to steal someone's phone to get a fake ID with their info. 1500 usd will get you that without it.
As for getting nothing in hand. They got exactly what they wanted. The device. Unless you work for the government in a high place. Then your data is meaningless on your phone. You already put it in enough places on line while using a pc that if they want it they already have it.
I could easily steal someone identity with a little more then what they post on Facebook or other social media outlets.

Question Hacked pixel 6

Can anyone help me carrier unlock my Verizon phone? My phone has been hacked and I hope being able to flash it will help me to get rid of whatever they have done to it. Can anyone tell me why I get this message when I reset my phone? Any help would be greatly appreciated

there is no carrier unlock for VZW models. if you can boot into recovery, sideload the OTA version that was last on your device.

What did you do that resulted in the phone being hacked? With the sectors being wiped that are shown in the images, it looks like you have provided total device access to something whilst having an unlocked bootloader or something similar. If you let us know what happened, it might help us to figure out what options you may still have.
But definitely see if you can do what @uicnren mentioned first.

Im not sure who or how they wiped anything. It happened one day after connecting to my girlfriends wifi. I got ahold of Verizon and they sent me a new phone and as soon as I started it the same thing happened to it also

How do I find what OTA version was used on my phone?

Nothing hacked here... this is an error when wiping the Secure Element (the trusted secure module).
(https://android-review.linaro.org/p...cure_element/1.0/SecureElementHalCallback.cpp line #66)
Are you initiating the wipe from the recovery? If so, that's likely the reason. If there is an account attached to the device, a wipe must first be initiated from within Android (Settings)

Woodruff87 said:
Im not sure who or how they wiped anything. It happened one day after connecting to my girlfriends wifi. I got ahold of Verizon and they sent me a new phone and as soon as I started it the same thing happened to it also
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Click to collapse
what symptoms were you seeing that made you think you were hacked?
Those errors are normal in Recovery Mode. I see them all the time, sometimes they don't appear, usually they do.
Did you remove your google accounts from settings, do a factory reset from the reset menu and lastly in recovery mode where you posted the screenshots from.
Your Account might be hacked but the phone is unlikely hacked. You would get a message at boot telling you that the device has been modified. With a locked bootloader its extremely unlikely (unless NSO Group is targeting you).

Woodruff87 said:
Can anyone help me carrier unlock my Verizon phone? My phone has been hacked and I hope being able to flash it will help me to get rid of whatever they have done to it. Can anyone tell me why I get this message when I reset my phone? Any help would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you unlock the bootloader? Have custom firmware/kernel installed?
A "hacker" wins nothing by resetting/wiping your phone. They want data, and that only works if the phone can turn on and works. This looks like a wipe/factory reset gone wrong, which spells user error or software error and less likely a "hacker" attack. Most hacks you will never notice. A hacker that makes you notice that something went wrong, is either an amateur or did it on purpose. Ergo, he wants you to know that something went wrong, which usually only happens in order to extort you. If there is no extortion, then an obvious act by a hacker is highly unlikely.
We need some more information. What firmware had you installed? What happened exactly when. Did you install any new apps recently? What did you do prior to something going wrong? All the information that could help us troubleshoot your issue.
You said your phone wiped itself a day after connecting to your girlfriends wifi, and that a replacement device that you got sent by your carrier, did the same. Did you check your Google account? Do you have two factor authentication activated? It sounds like your phone got wiped over wifi, which would require access to your Google account. It's just odd that you get errors, which normally shouldn't happen if someone would use the erase a lost Android device function.
It's also possible that your backup from your GAccount is simply corrupted (many people had issues with random reboots). You should try and set up your (replacement) phone anew without any backup, maybe that can fix your issue.
Beyond that Google account thing-y, anything else is highly unlikely. Even specialized companies have serious issues getting into a modern smartphone, lest alone an Android 12 phone with a Google Server grade Titan m2 chip. The newer the firmware, the less likely the chance that someone from the outside could get in, especially with a phone like a Pixel that isn't very common. Most security firms/govermental agencies can only abuse older, known security loopholes. It's more likely that very popular phones like a Samsung or IPhone are targets from "the bad guys", since there will be bigger payoff for breaking the security of those phones, since there is a greater pool of users to target. Most hacks I've witnessed weren't random, they were targeted. Ask yourself: Am I worth the trouble of getting hacked? Do you have anything of interest on your phone that would warrant an excessive use of resources? Managing to hack a Pixel is not only unlikely in terms of the security you need to breach, but also in terms of the potential payoff in relation to the necessary knowhow and resources. It's just "not worth it".
What you should do immediately, just in case, is secure your Google account. Change your password. Maybe even change your two-factor authentication, if you have one (sms is not secure, use a token generating software/device). Change the wifi password from your girlfriend and check the list of connected devices. make a list of these connected devices + history (find that in the rooter software) and check them against the devices you know of. Also check the list of connected devices to your GAccount. Use the option to log out ALL devices from your Google account, so only your device is connected.
Do any other people have access to your phone? Do any other people know your passwords? Does your girlfriend has access? Do any other people have biometric security saved on your phone? Do you trust your girlfriend completely?
Make sure you use a special, new password for your GAccount, never reuse old ones that you have used somewhere else. Also check your emails on https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Beyond that, if you are not doing already, use a password manager.

Woodruff87 said:
Im not sure who or how they wiped anything. It happened one day after connecting to my girlfriends wifi. I got ahold of Verizon and they sent me a new phone and as soon as I started it the same thing happened to it also
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait a sec. Verizon sent you a new (refurbished probably but new nonetheless) phone and when you turned it on weren't you greeted with the startup menu? Am I missing something?

Morgrain said:
Did you unlock the bootloader? Have custom firmware/kernel installed?
A "hacker" wins nothing by resetting/wiping your phone. They want data, and that only works if the phone can turn on and works. This looks like a wipe/factory reset gone wrong, which spells user error or software error and less likely a "hacker" attack. Most hacks you will never notice. A hacker that makes you notice that something went wrong, is either an amateur or did it on purpose. Ergo, he wants you to know that something went wrong, which usually only happens in order to extort you. If there is no extortion, then an obvious act by a hacker is highly unlikely.
We need some more information. What firmware had you installed? What happened exactly when. Did you install any new apps recently? What did you do prior to something going wrong? All the information that could help us troubleshoot your issue.
You said your phone wiped itself a day after connecting to your girlfriends wifi, and that a replacement device that you got sent by your carrier, did the same. Did you check your Google account? Do you have two factor authentication activated? It sounds like your phone got wiped over wifi, which would require access to your Google account. It's just odd that you get errors, which normally shouldn't happen if someone would use the erase a lost Android device function.
It's also possible that your backup from your GAccount is simply corrupted (many people had issues with random reboots). You should try and set up your (replacement) phone anew without any backup, maybe that can fix your issue.
Beyond that Google account thing-y, anything else is highly unlikely. Even specialized companies have serious issues getting into a modern smartphone, lest alone an Android 12 phone with a Google Server grade Titan m2 chip. The newer the firmware, the less likely the chance that someone from the outside could get in, especially with a phone like a Pixel that isn't very common. Most security firms/govermental agencies can only abuse older, known security loopholes. It's more likely that very popular phones like a Samsung or IPhone are targets from "the bad guys", since there will be bigger payoff for breaking the security of those phones, since there is a greater pool of users to target. Most hacks I've witnessed weren't random, they were targeted. Ask yourself: Am I worth the trouble of getting hacked? Do you have anything of interest on your phone that would warrant an excessive use of resources? Managing to hack a Pixel is not only unlikely in terms of the security you need to breach, but also in terms of the potential payoff in relation to the necessary knowhow and resources. It's just "not worth it".
What you should do immediately, just in case, is secure your Google account. Change your password. Maybe even change your two-factor authentication, if you have one (sms is not secure, use a token generating software/device). Change the wifi password from your girlfriend and check the list of connected devices. make a list of these connected devices + history (find that in the rooter software) and check them against the devices you know of. Also check the list of connected devices to your GAccount. Use the option to log out ALL devices from your Google account, so only your device is connected.
Do any other people have access to your phone? Do any other people know your passwords? Does your girlfriend has access? Do any other people have biometric security saved on your phone? Do you trust your girlfriend completely?
Make sure you use a special, new password for your GAccount, never reuse old ones that you have used somewhere else. Also check your emails on https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Beyond that, if you are not doing already, use a password manager.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I really appreciate the help and all the advice. I checked https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and my account has been pawned in 1 data breach... I will deactivate the Google account and start over fresh. Thanks again for all the info

bencozzy said:
Two things are they refurbished? And do they work without signing into google?
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Click to collapse
The first one was new, but the one I got from Google as a replacement was refurbished. Ill try resetting through the settings and deactivating all my accounts.

Woodruff87 said:
Thanks I really appreciate the help and all the advice. I checked https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and my account has been pawned in 1 data breach... I will deactivate the Google account and start over fresh. Thanks again for all the info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This, among many other things, is one of the reasons I use GrapheneOS and NO gooble services (despite all the attention they give to sandboxed gooble services).

Woodruff87 said:
Thanks I really appreciate the help and all the advice. I checked https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and my account has been pawned in 1 data breach... I will deactivate the Google account and start over fresh. Thanks again for all the info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your google address was found on that site for another service and you used the same password for both services, correct?
despite what some believe, your google account will not get hacked unless your password is insecure (ie. leaked or insufficient with 2FA). anything less and your asking for trouble (also using GrapheneOS).