Have you ever wondered if your phone, laptop, or other device is being monitored? Ever wished there were a way to tell whether or not someone was tapping into everything you write, say, and do on your mobile phone? Well, who better than Edward Snowden to create a phone case that lets you know if your device is being monitored.

The New Snowden Case

Working with co-designer Andrew “Bunnie” Huang on the project, Snowden showcased his new mobile phone case technology at a MIT conference this week. The case is called the ‘introspection engine,’ and it lets users know if a phone is being monitored by changing the color of the case when a phone has been compromised.

While there are supposed to be ways to turn off cellular data (like when a phone is in airplane mode), but Snowden says that even airplane mode can’t be trusted. He claims that a hacked phone in airplane mode never really shuts off. He also told MIT attendees that phones that have been hacked are easy to trace no matter where those phones might be.

How Much Data Do You Give Out?

Most people never turn off their phones. Phones that run continuously give off continuous information. This happens so that cellphone companies can easily follow users and bill accordingly. But when your phone is constantly giving off data that pertains to only your phone, it’s easy for hackers to intercept that data.

Right now, Snowden’s Introspection Engine is just a mock up. Even though he presented the design to MIT attendees, the phone case has not yet been manufactured. Snowden has said that he hopes the case will be real in the coming months, but so far it doesn’t actually exist. So why was this phone case even thought of?

Protecting Journalism

Snowden told press that he conceptualized the case with journalists in mind. He stated that journalists need to know when their phones are being monitored, so that governments and other people could not intervene. Snowden has long supported the belief that many stories have been killed due to government eavesdropping. This phone case could change that.

The other question with Snowden’s new case is whether or not governments will like it. This wouldn’t be the first time that Snowden has a scrape with governments and it probably won’t be the last. What the case would do is give users more control over their phones. Right now, it’s somewhat of an illusion that cell phone users can’t be tracked everywhere they go.

If you listen to Snowden’s logic, people are watching you when you use a cell phone - and it’s really that simple.
Attention

The new cell phone case designed by Snowden is getting a lot of attention already. As soon as the announcement at MIT was made, Snowden got lots of press. Of course, it helps if you launch a product and your name is Edward Snowden, too.