Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

Blogger and iPhone hacker Chpwn believes that the controversial Carrier IQ software isn’t confined to Android devices.

In this blog post, he says a look at the /usr/bin folder reveals Carrier IQ’s agent software, identified as IQAgent in iOS 3, and either awd_ice2 or awd_ice3 on iOS 4 or iOS 5 devices.

While Chpwn states that he is not certain the software is launched except when the phone is in diagnostic mode, the discovery is certain to add further momentum to the fury mounting at Carrier IQ’s surreptitious installation on consumer devices.

After denials by Carrier IQ that it was recording user behaviour in real time, Trevor Eckhart posted a video demonstrating that the company’s software was catching Eckhart’s taps, including searches sent to SSL (secure sockets layer) servers.

The row has Australian carriers putting as much distance between themselves and Carrier IQ as they can, as quickly as they can. Telstra’s Craig Middleton hit the Twittersphere today: “Telstra does not use it. We only use customer data for connecting calls and billing for services”.

The carrier’s New Zealand subsidiary Telstra Clear made a similar, but shorter statement.

Wrapping up the Australian carrier scene, both Optus and Vodafone told News.com.au that Carrier IQ’s software isn’t in use in this country; Vodafone has made the same statement for New Zealand, as has Telecom New Zealand. ®

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