-=PCTechTalk=- FYI: Big Brother
- From: "Larry Southerland" <larrysoutherland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <the_bullhorn2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <thebullhornsbest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:53:57 -0400
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http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/big-apple-big-google-big-brother/989?ta
g=nl.e539
Big Apple, Big Google, Big Brother
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols | April 24, 2011, 5:15pm PDT
Summary
It looks more and more like all mobile systems collect location data about
you. This, in turn, has the potential both for great rewards and great
abuse.
Topics
Google Inc. <http://www.zdnet.com/topics/google+inc.> , Phone
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/phone> , Smart Phone
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/smart+phone> , Apple Inc.
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/apple+inc.> , Cop
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/cop> , Location Data
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/location+data> , Applie iOS
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/applie+ios> , Smart Phones
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/smart+phones> , Cellular Phones
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/cellular+phones> , Handhelds
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/handhelds> , Telecom
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/telecom+%26amp%3B+utilities> & Utilities,
Consumer <http://www.zdnet.com/topics/consumer+electronics> Electronics,
Personal <http://www.zdnet.com/topics/personal+technology> Technology,
Hardware <http://www.zdnet.com/topics/hardware> , Steven J.
<http://www.zdnet.com/topics/steven+j.+vaughan-nichols> Vaughan-Nichols
more +
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
* Bio
* Contact
Biography
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka sjvn, has been writing about technology and
the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the cutting edge, PC operating
system; 300bps was a fast Internet connection; WordStar was the state of the
art word processor; and we liked it!
His work has been published in everything from highly technical publications
(IEEE Computer, ACM NetWorker, Byte) to business publications (eWEEK,
InformationWeek, ZDNet) to popular technology (Computer Shopper, PC
Magazine, PC World) to the mainstream press (Washington Post, San Francisco
Chronicle, BusinessWeek).
<http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/big-brother.jpg> In some ways, all the uproar
about Apple
<http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/your-iphone-is-tracking-you-and-has-been-fo
r-a-while/9985> saving location data on its iOS device users is old news.
Guess what? Big Brother, or Big Google,
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703387904576279451001593760.h
tml> also collects geo-location information from its mobile,
Android-powered devices. It's like anything else in computing: geo-location
can provide great services and resources, but it can also be abused.
Take, for example, a woman who was recently robbed in Texas. Using her
stolen iPhone, police
<http://www.click2houston.com/news/26879287/detail.html> officers were able
to quickly find not only her stolen phone, but her wedding ring as well.
Yea!
On the other hand, say another woman is in an abusive relationship and goes
to a friend's house or to a "safe-house" shelter. Her husband tracks her
down using her smartphone and literally drags her back "home."
That last case isn't fiction. My friend Angela, a Certified
<https://www.privacyassociation.org/certification/cipp_program> Information
Privacy Professional (CIPP) tells me, "I teach tech-safety courses for
domestic-violence survivors. This scenario has a probability of 1. In the
two years I've been teaching, we've had multiple instances of abusers using
hidden GPS-Bluetooth phone combinations to track vehicles, which sort of
totally sucks when the vehicle is now parked at a 'secret' women's shelter."
"Worse, the use of phone 'family' plans and fancy smartphones are among the
most difficult issues we face in the teaching process," Angela said. "Most
of the women we see are in desperate financial straits; often there's no
money for any sort of mobile plan (and we'll leave aside the whole
getting-an-account-set-up-under-those-circumstances thing), let alone for a
decent phone. Realistically, they know they have to dump the gadget and the
plan and so forth, but practically? With so much else happening? Argh."
How about wanting the local cops to know where you've been for the last two
weeks? Police already have
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20056344-281.html> the technology to
grab GPS location data from smartphones including latitude, longitude,
altitude and time data. They don't need sophisticated forensics equipment.
In Michigan,
<http://www.businessinsider.com/data-pirates-aka-cops-can-hack-your-cell-pho
ne-2011-4> cops can do it in a roadside traffic stop in a few minutes.
The cops or the jealous ex don't even need to get their hands on your
smartphone or tablet. Both Apple and Google regularly pull down your
location data. Apple, it seems, does it twice a day, while Google updates
your location several times an hour.
Why do they need continual access to this information? Beats me. Advertising
is what comes first to mind, but do they really need to know where I am
around the clock to make sure I get local ads? It strikes me as overkill.
And here's the part that really worries me. What stops someone from
snatching that location data out of the air over the Wi-Fi or 3G/4G network?
Do we want a government, say Syria, using this information to track down
protesters seen at a recent demonstration? Might Syria
<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/24/ap/world/main20056833.shtml?tag=m
ncol;lst;2> 's dictatorship be doing just that with its recent pinpoint
kidnapping of activists?
I know there are people who don
<http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/your-iphone-ipad-recording-your-every-move-so
/47610> 't consider it a big deal that Big Companies potentially knows their
every move.. I do. There's a huge difference between information that you
opt to give a company when you buy their product or click on a Web ad, and
information that flows to them whenever your device is turned on.
Sure, you can opt out by refusing to grant any geo-location app permission
to run, but that's not a viable answer. That's throwing out the baby with
the bathwater.
The real answer, the better answer, is for Apple and Google to keep only a
brief log of where you've been, and to stop transmitting this data to the
home office. The applications don't need this comprehensive information; the
companies don't need it, even if they want it; and the potential harm that
can result from using the information far outweighs the benefits. Do the
right thing, Apple and Google: Get out of the Big Brother business.
Related Stories:
iOS
<http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/ios-is-watching-you-always-watching/1247
0> is watching you . always watching!
Your
<http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/your-iphone-is-tracking-you-and-has-been-fo
r-a-while/9985> iPhone is tracking you (and has been for a while)
Congressman
<http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/congressman-asks-jobs-to-respond-about-cons
olidateddb/999> asks Jobs to respond about consolidated.db
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily
<http://nl.zdnet.com/acct_mgmt.sc?brand=zdnet> e-mail newsletter. It's the
freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
<http://nl.zdnet.com/acct_mgmt.sc?brand=zdnet>
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka sjvn, has been writing about technology and
the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the cutting edge, PC operating
system
* Full Bio
* Disclosure
* Contact
Your friend,
Larry
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