Free Mobile - when Android is not enough
1 like686 views
The document presents the history and evolution of open mobile systems, focusing on the Neo900 phone as a privacy-centric alternative to mainstream devices. It discusses the limitations of existing smartphones regarding hardware control, software freedom, and privacy concerns, while highlighting various community-led solutions and initiatives. Ultimately, it emphasizes the importance of dedicated hardware for hacking and user autonomy in mobile computing.
Free Mobile - when Android is not enough
- 1. Free Mobile ...when Android is not enough. Sebastian Krzyszkowiak dos http://dosowisko.net/ P.I.W.O. X Poznań, 17.05.2014 CC-BY-SA 4.0 http://neo900.org/piwo/
- 2. 2 Agenda ● Hardware – The history of Openmoko – Raise of the Phoenux – Neo900 ● Privacy and GSM (and what Neo900 can offer there) ● Software – Community-based mobile operating systems – freesmartphone.org middleware – Demo + live coding!
- 3. 3 When Android is not enough? ● Completely custom userspace ● Long term support? You'd wish. ● Sure, it's open... but – Is your Android device open as well? – Can you influence its development? – Can you use it with FLOSS only? ● There is Replicant. But... is it compatible with your phone? – Can you replace it? No, I don't mean „modding”.
- 7. 7 Not really. ● Repeating Android mistakes with undocumented, closed and locked-down hardware ● Limited paradigms ● Customer friendly – Yes, sometimes it can be a flaw. ● Not completely FLOSS!
- 8. 8 Hardware
- 9. 9 The Hardware Problem ● I'm the admin of my PC. Why can't I be the admin of my phone as well? ● We don't use App Stores on Pcs. Why should we need them on phones? ● We can choose from hundreds of systems to install on PC. Why can't we do that on mobiles as well?
- 10. 10 The Hardware Problem Does a cellphone really differ so much from your average laptop? It doesn't. It's just smaller and more integrated.
- 11. 11 The Hardware Problem ● Lack of documentation ● Closed components ● Porting – the neverending story ● Upstream? In your dreams. ● When you have to break into your own device in order to use it as you wish, something is completely wrong!
- 12. 12 The Wise Quote Time „The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” George Bernard Shaw
- 13. 13 The Wise Quote Time „Think different” Apple Inc :)
- 14. 14 The solution ● Stop adapting to the world – Porting is futile
- 15. 15 The solution ● Stop adapting to the world – Porting is futile ● Start adapting the world! – Make hardware dedicated to hacking
- 16. 16 Openmoko ● Started by Sean Moss-Pultz ● Funded by Taiwanese company First International Computer, Inc (FIC)
- 17. 17 Neo1973 GTA01 ● Released July 9, 2007 ● Samsung s3c2410 @ 266 MHz ● 128 MB RAM ● 64 MB NAND flash ● 480x640 screen, 282 dpi „retina” :P ● TI Calypso 2.5G modem ● Targeted to developers
- 18. 18 Neo1973 GTA01 ● Lack of WiFi ● GPS needed proprietary driver
- 19. 19 Neo Freerunner GTA02 ● Released July 3, 2008 ● Samsung s3c2442 @ 400 MHz ● SMedia Glamo 3362 ● 256 MB NAND flash ● Unbrickable bootloader ● WiFi, u-blox GPS ● Powered USB host mode ● Around 15 000 units sold
- 20. 20 Neo Freerunner GTA02 ● Glamo graphics accelerator turned out to be a decceletator ● Famous hw problems (GSM buzz, deep sleep), but fixable with some soldering
- 21. 21 GTA03 / 3D7K Speculated specs: ● Cinterion MC75i 2.75G modem ● Cameras ● Samsung s3c6410 @ 533MHz / 667MHz / 800MHz with integrated 3D accelerator ● Unique, transparent case made by famous designer ● Cancelled in 2009.
- 22. 22 The fall. ● Openmoko Inc. going out of mobile phone business ● Moving to WikiReader instead
- 23. 23 The rise. ● Fortunately, there's an amazing community! – Some software support for Neo Freerunner still exists! – New hardware initiatives appear.
- 24. 24 OpenPhoenux
- 25. 25 Openmoko Beagle Hybrid ● Project started in 2010 by Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller Golden Delicious Computers GmbH&Co. KG
- 26. 26 GTA04 More photos: http://download.goldelico.com/gta04/images/ ● Beagle Hybrid integrated into single board
- 27. 27 GTA04 ● TI OMAP3 DM3730 @ 800 MHz / 1000 MHz ● PowerVR 3D accelerator ● 512 MB RAM ● 512 MB / 1 GB NAND flash ● Option GTM601 3.75G modem ● http://projects.goldelico.com/p/gta04-main/pag e/FeatureList/ ● Fits into GTA01/02 case
- 29. 29 GTA04 ● Experiments with cases and hw keyboard
- 31. 31 GTA04
- 32. 32 Nokia Internet Tablets ● Running on Maemo ● Nokia 770 ● Nokia N800 ● Nokia N810 ● ...
- 33. 33 Nokia N900 ● First Maemo based phone ● Released November 11, 2009 ● Hacker friendly, with fully free kernel and no restrictions in bootloader ● Still active Maemo 5 community
- 34. 34 Neo900 Merge of GTA04 and Nokia N900 http://neo900.org/ Neo900Finally the first true successor to the N900. Following the FOSS spirit of Openmoko.
- 35. 35 Neo900 ● Announced August 25, 2013 ● Team members: – Jörg Reisenweber – Nikolaus Shaller – Sebastian Krzyszkowiak
- 36. 36 Neo900 ● TI OMAP3 DM3730 @ 1 GHz ● 1 GB RAM ● 1 GB NAND + 32/64 GB eMMC ● Cinterion PHS8/PLS8 modem (LTE) ● GPS/GLONASS ● Battery hot-swap support ● Modem sandbox and monitoring solution ● http://neo900.org/specs
- 37. 37 Neo900 ● Unexpectedly good reaction! ● Oct 30, 2013 – fundraiser started ● Nov 04, 2013 – 25k EUR reached ● Dec 02, 2013 – 200 devices reached ● Now at 366 devices / 76k EUR
- 38. 38 Neo900 ● Right now donations are temporarily suspended due to reorganisation. ● The raised amount may change due to having to pay it back :( ● New way to collect the money starting soon ● Stay informed: http://neo900.org/subscribe
- 39. 39 Privacy
- 40. 40 Open baseband? ● Unfortunately, it's not going to happen for both economical and legal reasons. ● Basebands are cryptographically locked and any change in their firmware results in revokation of their certification, rendering them illegal to use in public networks.
- 41. 41 OsmocomBB ● Open baseband firmware ● Runs on TI Calypso (the same as in GTA01/02) ● Illegal to use as a phone outside the lab ● http://bb.osmocom.org
- 42. 42 Open baseband? ● However, open baseband does not fix the privacy problems.
- 43. 43 The threats ● Tracking – Trilateration based (IPL, OTDOA, E-OTD, U-TDOA) – GPS-assisted (RRLP) ● Eavesdropping ● Data leakage ● Security bugs in firmware ● Direct access to main RAM
- 44. 44 Not solvable ● Eavesdropping of calls ● Eavesdropping of Internet connection ● Trilateration while connected to the network It can (and does) happen outside of the device or is necessary for it to function. Aside from encryption, there's nothing we can do against it.
- 45. 45 Neo900 concept ● Counter-surveillance rather than audit and trust ● Everything not 100% in control is considered rogue ● Rogue stuff is sandboxed and constantly monitored
- 47. 47 Neo900 design ● If the modem is compromised, the main system remains safe use the encryption, Luke ● If the modem is supposed to be off, but it isn't – we know that and can react accordingly ● If the GPS is in use when not requested – we know that but the antenna will be disabled :) ● If the modem tries to record audio when not requested – we know that but it won't be able to do it :)
- 48. 48 Neo900 design ● When modem act badly, user is notified and automatic hard reset via emergency_off line is applied.
- 49. 49 Neo900 concept ● This way, when something fishy is going on, software kicks off an alarm to make user do efficient measures to stop the threat: – Removing the battery – Destroying the device – Hiding it under the seat in bus and leaving ● With basic solutions like external power switch, user is not aware that his device has been tampered with.
- 50. 50 Neo900 design ● Our monitoring approach can also reveal some „rogue” activities from outside – like packet-storms on airports. https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/20 14/04/gogo_wireless_a.html#c5459667
- 51. 51 Software
- 53. 53 QtMoko ● Fork of Qtopia / Qt Extended http://qtmoko.sourceforge.net/
- 54. 54 SHR ● Based on e17 and FSO http://shr-project.org/
- 55. 55 Debian
- 57. 57 „Freemantle” ● Maemo 5 „Fremantle” ● Proprietary components being successively replaced with FLOSS equivalents by community ● CSSU – community updates ● http://maemo.org/
- 59. 59 Neil's Experimental Userspace ● By Neil Jerram
- 62. 62 Interesting projects ● ReMoko https://code.google.com/p/remoko/ ● Accelges https://code.google.com/p/accelges/ ● Freerunner Navigation Board http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Freerunner_N avigation_Board_v3 ● Freerunner in space
- 63. 63 Demo!
- 64. 64 freesmartphone.org ● A set of D-Bus APIs to get the most out of your smartphone ● Full-fledged GSM middleware (fsogsmd) ● Resource handling daemon (fsousaged) ● Power management etc. (fsodeviced) ● ...and more! ● http://docs.freesmartphone.org/
- 65. 65 freesmartphone.org ● Easy to use in your application, using any D- Bus enabled language ● Let's try it!
- 66. 66 Questions?