In 2014 US whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the National Security Agency and GCHQ could turn on smartphones remotely, even when they were switched off. Now, three years later, several smartphone manufacturers have started introducing non-removable batteries. Is it a coincidence? <\/p>\n
In June 2013, Snowden revealed the NSA was collecting the phone records ofmillions ofVerizon customers inthe US using a secret court order, and had also tapped the phones ofdozens ofworld leaders, including Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel. <\/p>\n
Snowden was threatened withprosecution inthe US, and fled toRussia, where he was granted asylum two years later. <\/p>\n
The followingyear he gave an interview inwhich he explained how the NSA, and Britain's GCHQ, had the capability touse smartphones likebugs ina room. <\/p>\n
They were able toswitch onpeople's phones and listen tothem remotely withoutthem being aware, he said. <\/p>\n
\"They can absolutely turn them onwith the power turned offto the device,\" Snowden said. <\/p>\n
He said the intelligence agencies could gain access toa handset bysending it an encrypted text message and could even use the phone's camera withoutthe owner's knowledge. <\/p>\n
The Washington Post had reported the NSA had introduced this feature tohelp US forces hunting al-Qaeda insurgents inIraq. <\/p>\n
Earlier this year,WikiLeaks exposed a CIA program aimed athacking computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs fromcompanies likeApple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung, using techniques users could neither detect nor disable byresetting their devices. <\/p>\n
After Snowden's little revelation some people who were extremely concerned aboutgovernment surveillance including criminals and terrorists began removing the batteries entirely fromtheir devices. <\/p>\n
Now a number ofsmartphones, likethe Samsung A5, have come onthe market inthe UK, US and elsewhere, which have batteries which cannot be removed. <\/p>\n
Some conspiracy theorists might jump tothe conclusion that they have been pressured bythe intelligence agencies toensure smartphones can always be spied on. <\/p>\n
\"Seemingly the main reason is waterproofing, butthey have already achieved that witha removable battery inthe S5,\" Tonny Be, a technology expert, told Sputnik. <\/p>\n
\"The heads ofGoogle and several other phone\/tech manufacturers have been documented inthe media ashaving visited the White House duringthe Obama era,\" he told Sputnik. <\/p>\n
\"Advancement ofnon-removable batteries started toinvade the mobile market coincidence or plan tokeep everyone onthe grid while milking money outof them withneutered devices while keeping those same devices 'always on' tobe spied uponby the powers that be?\" Mr. Be said. <\/p>\n
\"You decide: conspiracy theory lunacy or nice, complete, neatly-wrapped package ofevidence being touted ascoincidence?\" he added. <\/p>\n
\"I figure if the powers that be ever admit toit being a collective effort that was forced uponmanufacturers or possibly agreed uponto be tactically put inplay, they'll spin it inas a preventive terrorist measure,\" Mr. Be concluded. <\/p>\n
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