Pocket Spies

Michael Yon Online ^ | 17 November, 2011 | Michael Yon

[brityank]

Pocket Spies

17 November 2011

We know the Internet has dangers. Everything we put onto the information superhighway should be considered chiseled into marble. Meanwhile, those smartphones that so many of us carry are tantamount to carrying hostile spies in our pockets. If the battery is charged and in the phone, the phone is a homing beacon whether it’s on or off. Now add services such as Facebook, and those excellent phone cameras with geotagging, and there is a combination for disaster.

This has relevancy for our troops in Afghanistan. During certain missions, I would not even take my smartphones. On or off, I did not want to take the chance. Probably made no difference, but it’s better safe than to get our people hurt. It is important that troops make sure that journalists and Interpreters do not take smartphones during certain sorts of missions. Also, if you get blown up, that smartphone might go sailing through the air and be found by the enemy. If they crack into it, they might have a treasure chest. The last unit that I had the honor to cover was 4-4 Cav. They were good about reminding about the smartphones but some other units don’t pay attention.

My Facebook has more than 48,000 readers. They come from just about any country imaginable, and many walks of life. A few days ago, I was browsing through the menus trying to learn more about Facebook, which amounts to a passive intelligence agency of sorts. This is especially true if you have Facebook (or other similar services) on your smartphone.

And so, with my iPhone4s using a Facebook app, I touched the tab called “Nearby.” An incredible amount of “actionable intelligence” scrolled on. One friend was at the Sheraton at the Pentagon. Another was at the Pentagon. I emailed to her and she confirmed. Another was at the VA Hospital in Long Beach. Ruby Tuesday. iHop. Starbucks Fort Polk. Times Square. Pacific Grill. Home sweet home. Octapharma Plasma. China Café. FBI Academy. Tahlequah Dialysis Unit. Columbus State University. AJ’s Pizza. Farelli’s Pizza. Palladium Theatre. Home. Crossroads Christian Church. 24 Hour Fitness – Mission Valley California. The Exchange Hotel.

And on and on. With my iPhone, I could track their smartphones in real time.

Some people were also typing entries (just got on the train) and they were being tracked. One young Thai woman was typing entries and finally posted she was home at her condo in Bangkok. At the same time, another was 12 time zones away at X-treme Rockclimbing Gym in Miami, Florida.

Touch one button and GoogleMaps instantly appears showing the precise location. Touch one more button and there is a choice: “Open in Maps,” “Get Directions,” “Cancel.”

I scrolled down the list. Numerous people said they were home. Their locators pinpointed their locations. I touched the buttons and saw their locations on Google Earth. And there was one Afghan friend. I could see exactly where he was in Kabul. He is an avowed enemy of the Taliban. They have threatened to kill him. I emailed at once saying to turn that thing off. I know where you are. If he did not email back very quickly, I was going to call. He emailed back, confirmed his location and turned it off.

It’s not enough that we are careful ourselves. If we are tooling around Afghanistan together, and only one of us has not turned off the location service, we are both trackable by anyone. No special gear or warrant is needed. If someone’s child has this option switched on, the whole family is trackable, not to mention that the child is easily trackable in real time everywhere he or she goes.

Enough said.

[brityank]

No special gear or warrant is needed. If someone’s child has this option switched on, the whole family is trackable, not to mention that the child is easily trackable in real time everywhere he or she goes.

Google, Facebook, et al do not have to follow 4^thAmendment restrictions.

Plan accordingly.

[brityank]

Interesting take for your ping lists.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

I’ve never opened the Facebook app on my phone.

[wrench]

Everything sent over today’s cell phones are sent as “files”. They exist long after you hang up, and can be retrieved with the proper hardware and access.

Keep this in mind next time you call, text, or e-mail someone.

[upchuck]

Reason #416 why I don’t have a cell phone. I refuse to make it easy for you to track me and know what I’m doing. None of your f-ing business.

[HiTech RedNeck]

How the niceties of an open civilized life can be turned into mortal dangers in warfare, or just plain criminal or unscrupulous stalkers. There ought to be a passcode required by default to see where someone is, and periods of being open should time out and require the trackee’s continuing consent.

[HiTech RedNeck]

If you’ve got a storage device in your phone or camera, even “formatting” it may not erase all data. Brute force overwriting with other data may be needed.

[brityank]

Thanks - and I agree.

The other problem I see is the propensity of the cops to grab everything they can off those they take control of, with no repercussion. So far I believe the courts have held that they need a warrant to get the info from the provider - but anything they get from the phone itself is fair game. To my opinion that too goes against the restrictions of privacy in your papers and possessions.

Password your unit and lock it. You do not have to provide the password without a court ordered warrant.

[mountn man]

There was some articles on FR a few months back.

Do a google search of:
Michigan Police Cell Phones

[Tribune7]

Not a Pa ping.