Smartphones can be hacked with just 1 text: Snowden

GCHQ and NSA have invested heavily in technology allowing them to hack smart phones

Moscow: Smartphone users can do "very little" to stop security services getting "total control" over their devices, US whistleblower Edward Snowden has said.

The former intelligence contractor told the BBC's Panorama that UK intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters had the power to hack into phones without their owners' knowledge.

Snowden said GCHQ could gain access to a handset by sending it an encrypted text message and use it for such things as taking pictures and listening in.