By Heather Hamilton, contributing writer
Edward Snowden, better known as the National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified information regarding government surveillance programs in 2013, has now introduced an app designed to protect laptops from physical tampering. The app, called Haven , was unveiled via video message on Dec. 22. The Freedom of Press Foundation and the Guardian Project partnered with Snowden, who has resided in Russia since 2013.
According to Snowden, Haven is an open-source tool for investigative journalists, human rights activists, and other people at risk that uses Android sensors to detect changes in a room. In a publicity video, he says that the app “turns any spare Android phone into a safe room that fits in your pocket.”
He describes the surveillance equipment present in smartphones and suggests that maybe it’s time to use it to do something good in the world. The video emphasizes that you don’t have to be in the midst of scary investigative work to benefit from the app — anyone with something to protect may find it useful because Haven saves images and sound when it detects sound or movement. The user is responsible for positioning the phone’s camera and microphone in vulnerable areas, and images/sounds are stored locally to be accessed at any time.
Haven monitors the Android’s accelerometer, camera, microphone, light, and power to detect changes and triggerable events. In the case of an event, the app notifies the user via encrypted message sent to their smartphone.
In an encrypted phone call with Wired , Snowden said, “Imagine if you had a guard dog [that] you could take with you to any hotel room and leave it in your room when you’re not there. And it’s actually smart and it witnesses everything that happens and creates a record of it. The real idea is to establish that the physical spaces around you can be trusted.”
Wired tested the app and found that, if anything, it was too sensitive, sending hundreds of alerts when a fan operated inside a laptop or when a tiny event created a noise in the office. The app does allow users to adjust audio settings, but the team at Wired found it to be a little tricky at first. The app will likely see adjustments as more people use it. For now, Snowden hopes that the fact that any phone could be a recording device gives intruders pause.
But his association with the app might actually be hurting it. The BBC reports that many members of the public are skeptical of the app, given Snowden’s history, but also identifies Twitter users who remind them that the app is open-source, which means that users are free to look for spyware themselves.
Right now, Snowden is asking for contributions — be they monetary donations, code, etc. — hence the need for open source. Currently, there is no version for iPhones, though the website encourages Apple users to pick up a cheap Android just to use Haven. The app can be downloaded via Google Play.
Sources: Freedom of the Press Foundation, Haven, Wired, BBC
Image Source: Pixabay
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