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In North Korea, your phone secretly takes screenshots every 5 minutes for government surveillance

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  • Archived Link

    A smartphone smuggled out of North Korea is offering a rare – and unsettling – glimpse into the extent of control Kim Jong Un's regime exerts over its citizens, down to the very words they type. While the device appears outwardly similar to any modern smartphone, its software reveals a far more oppressive reality.
    The phone was featured in a BBC video, which showed it powering on with an animated North Korean flag waving across the screen. While the report did not specify the brand, the design and user interface closely resembled those of a Huawei or Honor device.

    It's unclear whether these companies officially sell phones in North Korea, but if they do, the devices are likely customized with state-approved software designed to restrict functionality and facilitate government surveillance.

    One of the more revealing – and darkly amusing – features was the phone's automatic censorship of words deemed problematic by the state. For instance, when users typed oppa, a South Korean term used to refer to an older brother or a boyfriend, the phone automatically replaced it with comrade. A warning would then appear, admonishing the user that oppa could only refer to an older sibling.

    Typing "South Korea" would trigger another change. The phrase was automatically replaced with "puppet state," reflecting the language used in official North Korean rhetoric.

    Then came the more unsettling features. The phone silently captured a screenshot every five minutes, storing the images in a hidden folder that users couldn't access. According to the BBC, authorities could later review these images to monitor the user's activity.

    The device was smuggled out of North Korea by Daily NK, a Seoul-based media outlet specializing in North Korean affairs. After examining the phone, the BBC confirmed that the censorship mechanisms were deeply embedded in its software. Experts say this technology is designed not only to control information but also to reinforce state messaging at the most personal level.

    Smartphone usage has grown in North Korea in recent years, but access remains tightly controlled. Devices cannot connect to the global internet and are subject to intense government surveillance.

    The regime has reportedly intensified efforts to eliminate South Korean cultural influence, which it views as subversive. So-called "youth crackdown squads" have been deployed to enforce these rules, frequently stopping young people on the streets to inspect their phones and review text messages for banned language.

    Some North Korean escapees have shared that exposure to South Korean dramas or foreign radio broadcasts played a key role in their decision to flee the country. Despite the risks, outside media continues to be smuggled in – often via USB sticks and memory cards hidden in food shipments. Much of this effort is supported by foreign organizations.

    US, it's every second they are monitoring.

  • Archived Link

    A smartphone smuggled out of North Korea is offering a rare – and unsettling – glimpse into the extent of control Kim Jong Un's regime exerts over its citizens, down to the very words they type. While the device appears outwardly similar to any modern smartphone, its software reveals a far more oppressive reality.
    The phone was featured in a BBC video, which showed it powering on with an animated North Korean flag waving across the screen. While the report did not specify the brand, the design and user interface closely resembled those of a Huawei or Honor device.

    It's unclear whether these companies officially sell phones in North Korea, but if they do, the devices are likely customized with state-approved software designed to restrict functionality and facilitate government surveillance.

    One of the more revealing – and darkly amusing – features was the phone's automatic censorship of words deemed problematic by the state. For instance, when users typed oppa, a South Korean term used to refer to an older brother or a boyfriend, the phone automatically replaced it with comrade. A warning would then appear, admonishing the user that oppa could only refer to an older sibling.

    Typing "South Korea" would trigger another change. The phrase was automatically replaced with "puppet state," reflecting the language used in official North Korean rhetoric.

    Then came the more unsettling features. The phone silently captured a screenshot every five minutes, storing the images in a hidden folder that users couldn't access. According to the BBC, authorities could later review these images to monitor the user's activity.

    The device was smuggled out of North Korea by Daily NK, a Seoul-based media outlet specializing in North Korean affairs. After examining the phone, the BBC confirmed that the censorship mechanisms were deeply embedded in its software. Experts say this technology is designed not only to control information but also to reinforce state messaging at the most personal level.

    Smartphone usage has grown in North Korea in recent years, but access remains tightly controlled. Devices cannot connect to the global internet and are subject to intense government surveillance.

    The regime has reportedly intensified efforts to eliminate South Korean cultural influence, which it views as subversive. So-called "youth crackdown squads" have been deployed to enforce these rules, frequently stopping young people on the streets to inspect their phones and review text messages for banned language.

    Some North Korean escapees have shared that exposure to South Korean dramas or foreign radio broadcasts played a key role in their decision to flee the country. Despite the risks, outside media continues to be smuggled in – often via USB sticks and memory cards hidden in food shipments. Much of this effort is supported by foreign organizations.

    Oh cool they got microsoft recall first

  • Have you checked what's in it? Every action and touch is logged with all the details. Many people didn't even guess that such actions could be logged. It's like super spyware activity; it's very creepy. "Google is tracking your every touch on any Android device" - is exactly what it does.

    I first noticed this issue around 2015, and I have been trying to disable it on every Android device since then. However, it re-enables itself from time to time. I have a few Google accounts, and it must be disabled on each one.

    What I'm seeing, is that:

    • it doesn't log all your touches, but some actions in some apps
    • not on any Android device, but some device categories like smartphones
    • only on those with Google services (no China devices for example)
    • only with a Google account logged in
    • only when that account has that feature turned on

    That's already very far from every Android device, let alone every touch.

  • What I'm seeing, is that:

    • it doesn't log all your touches, but some actions in some apps
    • not on any Android device, but some device categories like smartphones
    • only on those with Google services (no China devices for example)
    • only with a Google account logged in
    • only when that account has that feature turned on

    That's already very far from every Android device, let alone every touch.

    not on any Android device, but some device categories like smartphones

    Hm, are there any categories? I didn't see any, but maybe they've added them already. They log whatever they can. Today it's smartphones and tablets, but tomorrow it could be other devices and other things to be logged and uploaded to Google, like screenshots. The problem is that it's done behind your back, and many people are unaware of this creepy activity.

    By the way, if you did not disable the option to automatically upload all photos to the cloud, then manually taken screenshots are already uploaded. Many people are too busy to find and disable this option. And we're discussing North Korea here, LOL.

  • not on any Android device, but some device categories like smartphones

    Hm, are there any categories? I didn't see any, but maybe they've added them already. They log whatever they can. Today it's smartphones and tablets, but tomorrow it could be other devices and other things to be logged and uploaded to Google, like screenshots. The problem is that it's done behind your back, and many people are unaware of this creepy activity.

    By the way, if you did not disable the option to automatically upload all photos to the cloud, then manually taken screenshots are already uploaded. Many people are too busy to find and disable this option. And we're discussing North Korea here, LOL.

    Equating photo backup, something that needs to be turned on and only uploads media you create, from folders you choose, to North Korean government taking a hidden screenshot of your screen every 5 seconds, is a gigantic stretch.

    Definitely don't use Google Photos, Google can't be trusted with your photos. But wow these are completely different things.

  • GDPR does not prevent foreign intelligence agencies from profiling you

    Do you have a link to what foreign intelligence agencies you mean cause than I am going to use my right to be forgotten. Cause yea that will work.

  • Do you have a link to what foreign intelligence agencies you mean cause than I am going to use my right to be forgotten. Cause yea that will work.

    Any SIGINT agency that deals with foreign intelligence is likely to have most of your deepest darkest secrets. The ones with most media coverage are NSA and GCHQ. Looking it up isn't likely to yield very insightful results, other than perhaps some queer documents leaked by Snowden

  • Any SIGINT agency that deals with foreign intelligence is likely to have most of your deepest darkest secrets. The ones with most media coverage are NSA and GCHQ. Looking it up isn't likely to yield very insightful results, other than perhaps some queer documents leaked by Snowden

    Probably not considering I live in a generally low risk country (NL) and they can't have something that doesn't exist.
    International intelligence in GDPR countries generally goes through the own countries government unless there are signs that they cannot be trusted.

    And they will be really wary of using illegally obtained data on somebody in NL since that will cause for a lot of attention on them and probably issues. So even if they have relevant data they should be hesitant of using it.

  • Wow, German is weird.

    Meh, essentially it's just writing "Telecommunicationsourcesurveillance" as a single word without the spaces to indicate it's a singular thing being referred to (in this case the concept of directly listening on the source device before encryption happens). Might seem weird I guess, but you get used to it pretty quickly.

  • Shhh don't tell them that American Corporations have been doing that for years.

    The main difference being the consequences that might result from the surveillance.

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