Is there a fork of Android (or a way to harden it) that locks down the OS similarly to how Apple does it?
Apple’s implementation can actually protect you from commercial spyware. I’m impressed.
Is there a fork of Android (or a way to harden it) that locks down the OS similarly to how Apple does it?
Apple’s implementation can actually protect you from commercial spyware. I’m impressed.
No. Even iOS (even with lockdown mode) can definitely still be hacked.
Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
If you’re being targeted by someone with access to Pegasus-style spyware, you need more than consumer-level protection.
You’d need to always keep your phone in airplane mode, and maybe either use a mobile provider that works horrible with GrapheneOS, or change your mobile strength to like 3G, you can completely lose calls and texts when in airplane mode at that point, you’ll never get them, maybe you can stop the Pegasus attack.
Or, don’t use a phone number, rely on encrypted messaging. But if you must have some number, you could have 2 phones, one with just the phone number and sim card, then the other phone with Signal so your private phone shouldn’t be compromised.
Those are the only ways I can think of trying to resist it.
I mean they could use usb booted TailsOS and encrypted messengers like session, matrix, signal, etc.
Is there a way to USB boot Tails on a phone?
That’s true, all devices are hackable, there’s no 100% protection.
No tool is perfect, but if that’s a security improvement, it might be worth enabling.
I know of at least one instance where lockdown mode protected a user from NSO spyware.
A Citizen Lab’s research confirmed it:
I didn’t say it wasn’t worth enabling (FWIW I used lockdown mode in the past and now use GrapheneOS); just don’t expect it to protect you from these kinds of threats. You might get lucky, but you can’t rely on it (and it still might be worth it to you just based on that).
A big part of security is understanding what you’re protecting against, and weighing the effect of increasing the security of your system on its usability.