VietNamNet Bridge – Mobile network operators have affirmed that they have no involvement in the wiretapping operation or call and message copying, and that all the personal information of subscribers have been kept confidential.

Mobile phone subscribers have become worried stiff when hearing that their phone conversations would be tapped at any time, as the software pieces and devices allowing to bug phone calls have been selling everywhere.

There are a lot of bug device suppliers. Especially, the ad pieces on supplying tapping software pieces and devices can be found on websites as well. The advertisers affirm that all the latest generation software pieces like Spyphone, Copyphone, PokerSpyphone, Spy Mobile, Mobile Phone Spy would be delivered right after buyers make payment.

Clients have been told that it’ll take them some minutes only to install the software or bug devices into the targeted phones to record all the conversations and messages. Especially, the devices are dirt cheap, just about one million dong, which makes nothing to the people who can afford the smart phones running on IOS or Android.

A smart phone subscriber said he cannot understand why it’s so easy to eavesdrop on others’ calls nowadays. Should this be attributed to the equipment security errors or the security holes from service providers?

In reply, network operators have affirmed that they have no involvement in the wiretapping operation and that in principle, all the personal information of subscribers has been kept confidential.

A senior executive of MobiFone, one of the three biggest mobile network operators in Vietnam, said that MobiFone always pursues the principle of not providing information about clients to the third parties.

The executive said that some subscribers might have been eavesdropped on because their mobile phones have been illegally installed with tapping devices or software. Meanwhile, MobiFone does not control and does not make intervention to clients’ mobile phones.

A representative of Gmobile has affirmed that eavesdropping others’ calls or recording others’ messages is the behavior of seriously violating the laws. Therefore, Gmobile can say for sure that it has no involvement in the wiretapping operation and it does not any eavesdropping services of this kind. All the information about subscribers and their operation would be provided only in case Gmobile receives the requests from competent agencies.

According to the Gmobile’s executive, the wiretapping operation can be done in two ways. In the first way, eavesdroppers install the devices into the targeted mobile phones which allow to record the conversations from a certain distance. In the second way, spyware would be installed into the targeted phones.

Both the methods are not within the control of any mobile network operators. Therefore, they cannot intervene or prevent the behaviors.

What network operators can do is telling mobile phone subscribers to keep cautious when preparing to make the calls to mention important issues. In principle, tapping devices can only record the conservations from a certain distance. Therefore, if mobile phone subscribers escape from the areas where the recording devices are installed, they would be able to neutralize the devices.

Mobile phone owners should always bring their phones with themselves, and should not give phones to others, because the phones may be installed with spyware.

“If you can set passwords on your phones, you should use the function and change passwords regularly,” he said.

Some software pieces protecting mobile phones have been available on the market which allow users to discover the hidden software installed in the phones. This could be seen as an effective way to prevent spyware.

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