Jay-Z Magna Carta app hacked with anti-government messages following privacy concerns

Jay Z has seen his much vaunted ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ app hacked just days after its initial release. On Tuesday, the rap star and Samsung faced the wrath of angry fans on Twitter over privacy concerns and yesterday hackers cloned the Android app, which promises the first one million downloaders a free copy of Jay-Z’s new album ahead of its official release, posting messages criticising the US government. The cloned versions of the app on unofficial sites contain code that unlocked anti-Obama messages on 4 July. Despite initially appearing to do everything the official app did, the code contained in the cloned version copied and sent information to a command-and control server when the phone was restarted prompting the app to download the anti-government messages. The extra code contained a timer set to coincide with American Independence Day which changed the app’s wallpaper to pictures of Obama wearing headphones and accompanied by the phrase “Yes we scan”, a play on Obama’s “Yes, we can” presidential slogan and a reference to the NSA’s controversial Prism scanning system. The hacking adds to concerns regarding personal data the app is collecting which were first raised by rapper Killer Mike who tweeted a screen shot of the apps terms and conditions, which include permission to “modify or delete contents of your USB storage,” “prevent phone from sleeping” and access “approximate network location” as well as “precise GPS location,” and “read phone status and identity”, to his 69,000 followers. Killer Mike is not the only Twitter user to express concern with some fans suggesting the rapper should have called the album ‘Big Brother’ and likening him to a character from 1984.

Jay-Z should've called the new album "Big Brother," eh? http://t.co/yfsRO9FtAe

— Brandon Stosuy (@brandonstosuy) July 4, 2013

So, Jay-Z has basically become O'Brien from Orwell's 1984, right? http://t.co/jCajbuc3nb#fb

— Aaron Brophy (@AaronJJBrophy) July 4, 2013

Though it is not unusual for apps to request this kind of information Samsung has yet to make clear why the app needs this kind of access to user’s data. Andrew Bud, chairman at global mobile trade association MEF, said the debate surrounding whether or not the app is an invasion of privacy “once again highlights the toxic potential of this issue”. Bud commented: “The future of mobile music lies in understanding consumers’ tastes and behaviours, and offering them what they want, both old favourites and unexpected treats. Half a million people have already downloaded Jay-Z’s album app, but some will not have understood the trade of information for value that took place. What’s important in the future is that app providers make this clear, and ensure consumers understand what information is being collected and why. That’s not easy, but the industry can only build on that kind of transparency.”