• RovingFox@infosec.pub
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        1 year ago

        Those usually are made to persist after factory reset. The phone is rooted and factory reset is modified to not remove the bad software.

        • xeddyx@lemmy.nz
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          1 year ago

          And rooting the phone requires an unlocked bootloader, which would present a warning when the phone is booted up.

            • xeddyx@lemmy.nz
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              1 year ago

              Yes it will. There’s no way to bypass it, if there is, that would be a serious security flaw - the kind that would get patched very quickly. There have been some phones which had a vulnerable bootloader that allowed this in the past (eg: OnePlus devices), but there’s no such exploit available for current generation devices

              I’d like to see some sources backing up your claim, which is applicable to current generation phones.

              • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
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                1 year ago

                There’s no way to bypass it, if there is, that would be a serious security flaw

                Those do happen, but it is probably also possible to unlock the boot loader and then replace the boot loader itself with one that merely pretends to be locked. How would you know the difference?

                the kind that would get patched very quickly.

                Obviously criminals aren’t going to install security patches for vulnerabilities that they are exploiting.

                • xeddyx@lemmy.nz
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                  1 year ago

                  but it is probably also possible to unlock the boot loader and then replace the boot loader itself with one that merely pretends to be locked. How would you know the difference?

                  Sure, in theory, but doing that would require advanced knowledge, it’s not something a random shady seller on eBay would do. With skills like that, they could easily get a high paying job, or if they really want to be a criminal, a better option would be getting into something like phishing or cryptolocking, which, skills wise, is easier than writing a custom bootloader.

                  Obviously criminals aren’t going to install security patches for vulnerabilities that they are exploiting.

                  Which is why the first thing you should do is do a factory reset, update the phone, and do another factory reset. Or an even better option would be to just flash the factory firmware downloaded directly from the vendor.

                  • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
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                    1 year ago

                    Sure, in theory, but doing that would require advanced knowledge, it’s not something a random shady seller on eBay would do.

                    No. Writing the code to do that would require advanced knowledge, but once it’s written, any common criminal can use it.

                    With skills like that, they could easily get a high paying job, or if they really want to be a criminal, a better option would be getting into something like phishing or cryptolocking, which, skills wise, is easier than writing a custom bootloader.

                    They could use the compromised phone they sell you to phish or ransom you.

                    Which is why the first thing you should do is do a factory reset, update the phone, and do another factory reset. Or an even better option would be to just flash the factory firmware downloaded directly from the vendor.

                    All of those only work if the software already on the phone allows them to work. Factory resets, updates, and USB flashing are all implemented by software.