Declan,

I have a question for you, and maybe a suggestion for an article.

Around 2005/2006 I believe you published this article suggesting that cell phones could be remotely monitored. http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029-6140191.html

I think that article took on a life of its own, perhaps (?) beyond what you had intended, and since then has been the source of many articles saying the Feds could remotely turn on any cell phone at any time.

I once spent an afternoon reading various articles and they all used your article as their sole source.

I also think that folks suggested it wasn't any cell phone, but a particular few phones that could be reprogrammed, or that never really turned off, perhaps on a specific few carriers. (And there was some speculation that it wasn't even the phone, but a bugged phone battery.)

I haven't read anything further since 2006 about the Fed's ability to turn on cell phone mics when the phone is off, so I was wondering if you could do a follow up.

    1. Have you heard anything further on this?
    2. Did your article (inadvertently) create 
       unfounded rumors/conspiracy?
    3. Do you think that Android phones, mostly open 
       sourced with a few proprietary drivers, or 
       iPhones could be susceptible to this?
    4. If so, how might you answer the question of how 
       are all those employees at all those companies,
       Apple, Google, Verizon, ... being kept unaware, 
       or being kept silent?

For the most part, I had dismissed (no offense) the claims because no one else seemed to cite any other article (that didn't lead back to yours).

But recently, Dana Priest at the WaPo made a claim that:

By September 2004, a new NSA technique enabled the agency to find cellphones even when they were turned off. JSOC troops called this “The Find,” and it gave them thousands of new targets, including members of a burgeoning al-Qaeda-sponsored insurgency in Iraq, according to members of the unit. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-gr...)

Which made me rethink my dismissal.

Still, I haven't seen anything other than your piece and Dana Priest's piece suggesting anyone has this capability.

I'd love to read a follow up.