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Message-ID: <2020012413335386529-nobody@example.com>
Date: 24 Jan 2020 13:33:53 -0800
From: "Jay Hennigan" <nobody@example.com>
Subject: Re: Does anyone remember this payphone trick?
On 2020-01-22 19:12:40 +0000, Naveen Albert said:
> Technically, the dial tone provided by a COCOT is not from the CO. The
> COCOT plays its own dial tone and completes the call once a number is
> dialed. COCOTs don't let you get at the CO dial tone. You can hear the
> DTMF digits in the background once you've dialed the number and
> inserted the proper deposit. 0 and star numbers are also programmed
> to toll-free numbers. The COCOT itself is programmed to call home to
> the payphone provider every couple of days or so.
>
> There are a number of ways I've discovered in the past few years that
> make it possible to phreak COCOTs, too, particularly PTS ones, but
> they're not nearly as exciting as the old ways.
>
> I'm currently putting the finishing touches on virtual coin trunks for
> coin-first, post-pay (WECo and AE) and dial-tone first pre-pay
> operation. Surprised by how well they work, but also appreciative of
> just how many moving components there are with real trunks and how
> they operate together!
Another strange thing about many COCOTs is that the DTMF digits played
to the handset were scrambled while making the call. They sound like
real DTMF tones, but the digits heard in the handset don't match the
digits dialed. Calls completed as expected, but the audible feedback
was rather confusing espeically when calling a familiar number.
Do you know why this was done? I can't think of a valid reason.
Once the call completed, the actual dialed digits would be played both
over the line and through the handset. Things like voicemail, IVR, etc
worked as expected.
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Message-ID: <BE36388D-DCDB-48CB-9B53-52E7D42F8055@roscom.com>
Date: 23 Jan 2020 14:44:58 -0500
From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: How to FBI-proof your encrypted iPhone backups
How to FBI-proof your encrypted iPhone backups
By Barbara Krasnoff
If you're an iPhone user who is steadfast about retaining your privacy,
you're probably not very happy about the recent news that Apple is retaining
the ability to decrypt most of what's in an iCloud backup at the request of
government entities, such as the FBI.
In that case, you may want to pay attention to the adage that sometimes the
best ways are the old ways. While it's more convenient to use iCloud to back
up your phone, you can back up your iPhone to your Mac or Windows computer and
retain full control of your data backups.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/23/21076813/back-up-iphone-computer-how-to-mac-pc-icloud-data-fbi-encryption
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Message-ID: <723DB433-322B-4A6A-8ABD-8443D8048D2F@roscom.com>
Date: 25 Jan 2020 13:10:23 -0500
From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: The Crime-Fighting App That Caused a Phone-Hacking Scandal
in Italy
The Crime-Fighting App That Caused a Phone-Hacking Scandal in Italy
ESurv employees allegedly spied on unwitting Italian citizens.
By Ryan Gallagher
January 16, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-01-16/the-crime-fighting-app-whose-developers-allegedly-went-rogue
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End of telecom Digest Sun, 26 Jan 2020