Tracking: Does It Matter?
May 11, 2011
A news story broke this week that was more difficult for many to ignore; it seems our beloved iPhones and iPads are paying us the same attention we lavish on them. It turns out these Apple devices keep an internal log of every cell tower or hot spot they connect to, in essence creating a map of the user’s movements for as long as ten months. It gets better. The log file is highly visible and unencrypted, making it accessible to anyone with your device in their hands.
Getting the scent. Source: http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/feb/07/wsweat01-beagle-found-in-a-jiffy-by-tracking-dogs-ar-760887/
This news stems from a couple of British programmers who stumbled upon said “secret” location file. In the midst of the melee that ensued from outraged consumers and lawmakers alike, I was directed to a Bloomberg article titled “Researcher: iPhone Location Data Already Used By Cops”.
Interestingly enough, a rendition of this same story has been covered by the press months ago, only featured in a different light courtesy of an individual studying forensic computing. Per the write-up: “In a post on his blog, he explains that the existence of the location database—which tracks the cell phone towers your phone has connected to—has been public in security circles for some time.
While it’s not widely known, that’s not the same as not being known at all. In fact, he has written and presented several papers on the subject and even contributed a chapter on the location data in a book that covers forensic analysis of the iPhone.”
As detailed, there is already a constructive (albeit invasive) use for this aspect of technology: “harvesting geolocational evidence” for law enforcement agencies. There are other, less explosive explanations as well. One is the device itself actually needs the location services to enable some of its smart capabilities. Or, Apple can keep an eye on its network of towers and hot spots by using the devices as sensors. Does this excuse the careless handling of the log file by Apple? No, but the location tracking is somewhat necessary to the regular operation of your smart devices.
Funny how the second the media monster that is 24-hour network news clamps its teeth down on this bit of knowledge it becomes the next trendiest apocalypse. Until the public forgets about it again. No ears pricked up when the information was presented as research, with a predetermined function for the application. It now being days later, Apple has already owned up to its mistake, rationalized the issue and offered a solution, in a timely fashion according to critics. Well, then. Case closed. We can all go back to ignoring the news again. I was asked of my opinions on this development from varying perspectives by the head gander so I will oblige. I can happily report that my stance differs not be it from the engineer or “person” side of myself. Our iPhones exists thanks in whole to the imagination and diligence of clever minds. I cannot find fault in this. Technology doesn’t harm people. People harm people.
Which brings me to my next point: who didn’t realize they were being tracked prior to this incident? Have you ever used the internet or a credit card? Heard of an IP address? How do you think a GPS system works, or OnStar? While of course the “person” in me finds the thoughts of being stalked by a conglomerate unsettling and a breach of individual rights, this “person” is tired. Tired of defending the same people who use these devices to announce mind numbing daily minutiae, often including a current location at any given moment.
The same people who likely scrolled through a set of terms and conditions, checking the ‘I Agree’ box without even scanning them. People who couldn’t have been bothered to hear the news in earlier reports or previous disclosures, or even guessed that this was probably the state of affairs. By the way, Google’s Android collects the same information. There is a bright side to this debacle. A WSJ article explains that this mad dash for location data collection is a bid to reserve a seat as a major player in the multi-billion dollar and growing personal data industry. So Apple and Google don’t actually care where you are. They aren’t looking for you… they’re only looking for your wallet. If that doesn’t calm your nerves or fury, consider that there was a world before the iPhone that you can return to quite easily.
Sarah Rogers, May 11, 2011
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Perhaps connected. The Gamma Group Finfisher intrusion product intended only for law enforcement and intelligence agencies, recently sold to the Egyptian Government, allegedly to the Egypt State Security Investigation Department. This can get into web-based email systems including Gmail, Yahoo.and also Skype accounts. Not to mention hard disks. But also SMSs – see for instance
http://groups.google.com/group/lawmen/browse_thread/thread/d344ef7e7ea55080?pli=1 Question: can it get into for pay Gmail Postini subscriptions too? Figure its only a matter of time until there are open source Finfishers around – if there aren’t now.