The FBI’s honeypot Pixel 4a gets detailed in new report

39    11 Jul 2021 16:38 by u/VILLAIN

The FBI's sales pitch to alleged criminals was that these were security-focused devices (so please use them to document your illegal activities!), and that involved a lot of fun security theater. A "pin scrambling" feature would swap around the order of the lock screen numbers so that no one could guess your code from screen smudges. Two different interfaces would launch depending on what PIN you typed in on the lock screen. PIN one would show a bunch of popular but non-functional apps, like Tinder, Instagram, Facebook, Netflix, and Candy Crush. Presumably, this was meant to fool any third parties checking out your phone. A second PIN would enter what was supposed to be the secure section of the phone, showing three apps: a clock, calculator, and the settings. From here, the "calculator" app actually opened a login screen to Anom, which targets were told was a secure, encrypted way to chat. This was basically the smartphone equivalent of a fake book triggering a bookshelf to slide over, revealing a secret passage. It's so secret, it has to be secure!
According to the comments on arstechnia, MIUI from Xiaomi has second space which is similar to the separate interfaces, I'd like to see more operating systems with this feature, the randomized number location when entering pin code is cool too.

6 comments

14
It'd be cool to have a phone that actually has those privacy features easily useable. Secret alternate homescreens, stuff hidden in apps- like a spy phone or a super-incognito mode. You can never know if "secure" or "encrypted" stuff like that is actually secure unless it's all open source and you compile it yourself, though, and even then not really. It seems like every practical system that goes beyond your command line has some sort of exploit or backdoor due to incompetence or lying, like how Zoom falsely claimed end-to-end encryption.
10
Honestly scary. Imagine how red pilled on privacy you'd become if you bought a privacy phone and weren't a criminal, then found out it was an FBI honeypot. I guess not wanting all the world's governments to spy on your communications is an extremist ideal.
6
Takeaway from the article: When you get a Google Pixel phone, install Graphene OS on it.
3
If it warns you about a modified ROM on bootup, yes.
5
That depends on how you installed Graphene OS, there are ways to do it through Linux where you don't get a warning when booting up Graphene OS but if you do it through Windows, you will get a warning.
3
im pretty sure the randomized pin code is normal android feature on most custom roms