National Security Agency whistle blower Edward Snowden has come up with a concept iPhone case that could prevent the government from finding your location.
On Thursday, Snowden and hacker Andrew Huang presented a possible solution. It’s called “the introspection engine,” and it’s designed to alert the user if and when the phone’s radio signals are turned on.
Snowden’s solution is designed to detect any errant phone signals when the handset is switched into airplane mode.
His concept functions like a battery case that can attach to an iPhone, but it also wires into the handset’s SIM card slot. A small computer in the case will then detect the handset’s radio transmissions.
Any unusual activity can trigger an alarm. A small display embedded on the case can also show updates.
Snowden said that he designed the technology to help protect reporters working in dangerous situations.
Snowden’s introspection engine, however, is still just a concept. He hopes to develop a prototype over the coming year. The technology will be open source and is meant to easily be applied to other phone models.
