Smartphone Shock: Snowden Says US, UK Building New Snoop Tools

Fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden claims American and British spy agencies are secretly working on revolutionary new ways of hacking into smartphones.

"They want to own your phone instead of you," Snowden said in an interview aired Monday on the BBC's "Panorama."

But Snowden adds that the new invasive techniques would allow the agencies to take photos or eavesdrop. And smartphone owners have "very little" they can do to stop these officials from cracking their device.

One program developed by Britain's Government Communications Headquarters is called "Dreamy Smurf" — which would be able to turn a smart phone off and on without the owner knowing, Snowden said.

Another is "Tracker Smurf," which allows the agency to follow one's movement. And another would make discovering the intrusions almost impossible, according to Snowden.

"It makes it much more difficult for any technician to realize that anything's gone amiss," Snowden told "Panorama," adding that the NSA has shelled out nearly $1 billion to develop a similar set of spy tools.

A spokesperson for the British agency had no comment. Snowden said he is exposing the plans in the public interest.

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