Carrier IQ – Part Of The Solution, Not Part Of The Problem

There have been a number of news stories lately, even on the Brian Williams Nightly News, that suggests wireless operators are collecting all sorts of personal information about everything a subscriber is doing with their smartphones, typically from a company called Carrier IQ. And what are operators doing with such information? Does it invade our privacy?

There is always some kind of embedded monitoring software on all smartphones that’s placed there either by the operator or an approved third party. This software is monitoring the state of the phone, calling history and information about where and when dropped calls happen.

Snooping, or helping?

The operators use the information they get back from subscribers’ devices to learn where dropped calls occur most frequently. Analysis of the information that is collected by operators lets them determine when bottlenecks happen or when a specific application behaves poorly. Overall, the operator wants to deliver high quality of service that leads to higher customer satisfaction.

I believe in security and privacy as much or more than most, but I also realise there are things that a mobile operator must know in order to bill the customer properly and improve the quality of the network. And there are things that the device manufacturer must know to help fix problems and build better, more reliable devices in the future.

For example, if the wireless operator didn’t keep track of the number you’re calling and the length of the call, then the operator couldn’t figure out if the minutes you are consuming against your plan and provide a detailed bill each month showing you exactly what telephone numbers you called and how much you were supposed to pay. Likewise, if the operator didn’t log when there was a dropped call and where it happened, they wouldn’t be able to fix it.

Yes, there is some monitoring that we have to allow in order for the operator to provide the best network services possible. The real issue regarding privacy here is to ensure that no one else can get access to your personal information without either your approval or from a court order.  Everyone by now knows that most of your personal information and behavior can be discovered under court order, e.g. cell phone records, time stamps from use of tollways, photos when using an ATM and going through security at the airport.

What we don’t expect is that this information is made public or is obtained by others for inappropriate use such as identity fraud or marketing purposes.

Carrier IQ and other similar firms don’t collect information and then use it against anyone or sell to a third party. Their embedded software monitors performance of the handset and behavior of the network and then forwards summary information without passing on the user’s identity.

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