HOPE in a time of hopelessness

While DC saw a military takeover, Israel continued the starvation and general slaughter of thousands of human beings in Palestine, and ICE still swept unsuspecting civilians off the streets nationwide, Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE) 16 took place in Queens, NY. I found it to be a massive breath of fresh air in times that feel suffocating.

Talks had a wide range of subjects, most of which seemed to be a sign of the times. From the EFF's presentation on how data brokers slurp up your sensitive information then sell it to authorities, to counter-surveillance tactics in Palestine, and even Mitch Altman's vulnerable and honest talk on "Living Life During Interesting Times", I was engaged Friday through Sunday.

I, like many others struggle (if not fear) to imagine what our collective future looks like at this point. But it's the humanitity in communities like this that provides glimmers of optimism. Hearing from volunteers archiving an LGBTQ+ history that's being actively rewritten, legal tips on physical activism & hacktivism, and generally listening to people speak on topics they're passionate about was largely refreshing.

The Trials & Tribulations of Making Your Own Phone

For my first ever HOPE talk, I decided to present on an incomplete project I've been having a lot of fun with: making my own mobile phone!

This project is still in it's infancy but I've done a good bit of software & hardware development so far, learned a ton, and felt the project has some really interesting potential.

If you don't feel like watching the talk, here's a TLDR:

• Decided to build a phone because...
  • Allow for more disconnection from a tradition smart phone
  • I wanted to learn/resolidify skills (Rust, mobile networks, etc)
  • Cops, gov't agencies & tech companies are creepy with your data
• Hardware
  • Modem manufacturers can be annoying to work with as a hobbyist
  • Designed a custom PCB for the SIM7600 to understand it better
  • Said PCB didn't turn on & I haven't had time to troubleshoot it yet
  • Using Waveshare HAT + Raspberry Pi for the time being
• Software
  • Made a wrapper service for the Modem's AT commands that can...
    • Send/receive SMSs
    • Handle calls (answer, end, dial)
    • Set/get International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI)
    • Handling Unsolicited Result Codes (URC) from the modem (ie. incoming calls/texts)
  • All built in Rust
  • Had plans to expose APIs over DBus
  • Found out ModemManager is basically what I just made and has been around since 2008 😎
• Next steps
  • Build a compact standalone device that can be use as a phone, along with support for custom builds to be able to use whatever computer + modem
  • Encrypt all communications - like integrating Signal via Whisperfish's Presage or encrypting the content of SMS messages
  • Spoofing IMEI to allow for more privacy/harder traceability
    on mobile networks
  • Stingray detection - something similar to (or even integrating and making compatible with) EFF's Rayhunter to allow for Stingray/IMSI identifiation

If you're interested in contributing, email me at wes@lamemakes.com and subscribe to the RSS feed of this site for more updates!

I really am so grateful for not only the opportunity but also the wonderful HOPE staff/volunteers that make the event what it is each year!

View the full talk below or on YouTube