Wireless location privacy, was: Re: [Jeff Covey @ Freshmeat] We Are Losing the Browser War

From: Stephen D. Williams (sdw@lig.net)
Date: Fri Apr 06 2001 - 09:57:21 PDT


Good examples, but we're already partly screwed by this now and will
shortly be even worse off. Most of us carry cell/pcs phones, CDPD, RIM,
etc. that can, to various degrees, be triangulated on and reported.
Getting around this is going to be an interesting problem.

In fact, we probably won't have a solution until some segment of the
population manages to start tracking the government, stars, and other
elite too closely and easily.

Already you can buy cheap GPS/CDPD NEMA enclosed combos to put on
shipping containers or trucks to track their location throughout the
US. How long until every vehicle, cell phone, and computer has this?

sdw

Strata Rose Chalup wrote:
>
> This reeks, guys. I don't mean the strict technical feasibility,
> I mean the 100% certainty that any system implemented this way will
> be grossly misused to the detriment of personal freedom and privacy.
>
> "Cross-correlation between web cookies shows that the system retrieving
> from the IP addr that corresponds to these coordinates was you. Since
> that location is within company property. You're { fired for slacking off |
> ordered to give up rights to the idea since it was clearly researched with
> company resources | under arrest for trespassing | other }."
>
> "Ralph, I went to that bar you say you go to after work and did a
> "show network" command on my Wap-5 phone. Even down in the lounge
> area, the network address never goes into the range you post from
> when you "go out with the guys". What the hell are you up to?
> As your wife, I demand to know!"
>
> "Calm down, Mr CFO. We have set up a cooperative logging effort with
> most backbone sites and are sniffing your network for packet origin data.
> As soon as these crackers connect again to use those backdoors, our software
> will get a geofix on the origin addresses and look for matching sessions
> with the provider routing those addresses. It's recursive, and after some
> number of hops it will literally lead us right to their door."
>
> "Yes, Comrade, subversive messages have been posted from this Internet
> Cafe, directed illegally outside the country. Of course our filtering
> routers stopped the messages before they could leave mainland China, but
> the fact remains that you and your family are liable for abetting these
> dangerous radicals. The packet traces clearly show that they were sent
> using the network in this very teashop. I do not care who you say is
> running a wireless hub next door. The GPS does not lie."
>
> "To: Mea 3
> From: Anan 7
> Organiztion: Ministry of Warfare
> Subject: casualty of war
>
> Dear Mea 3,
>
> We regret to inform you that mobile phone coordinates obtained during
> your routine voicemail checks establish you as being within the blast
> zone of the latest cowardly attack by Eminiar. Please report to the
> disintegration chambers no later than 2100 hours today.
>
> Sincerely,
> Anan 7"
>
> I think that's plenty for now. Arguments of the form "but I just MAKE
> gold-plated double-handled teflon-coated quadribarbed muon frogstickers,
> I don't force anyone to go out into the swamps to stick frogs with them--
> I'm an artist, not a barbarian!" will be greeted with mocking laughter.
>
> A pitying glance will accompany the laughter for the "but if I didn't
> build it, somebody else would, and theirs would stick even more frogs
> than mine does!" variant.
>
> _SRC
>
> Eugene.Leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de wrote:
> >
> > Tony Finch wrote:
> >
> > > Yes, but consume is intended to suppoprt mobile computers so how do
> > > you define their location in order to give them an IP address?
> >
> > 1) GPS. No, really. As long as you can't do mutual time-of-flight
> > it's the way to go.
> >
> > 2) Address constraints from the neighbour node(s). Geodetic DHCP
> > (assignment of address/position plus uncertainty mask). This
> > way the mobile node doesn't have to have a positioning system
> > onboard (but what's the big deal these days?).
> >
> > It's a bit of handwaving, but I think it can be made to work.
>
> --
> ========================================================================
> Strata Rose Chalup [KF6NBZ] strata "@" virtual.net
> VirtualNet Consulting http://www.virtual.net/
> ** Project Management & Architecture for ISP/ASP Systems Integration **
> =========================================================================

-- 
sdw@lig.net  http://sdw.st
Stephen D. Williams
43392 Wayside Cir,Ashburn,VA 20147-4622 703-724-0118W 703-995-0407Fax 
Dec2000



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