17. Location based services

Location based services were strike down by US governments in the year 2000 due to privacy concerns.

However it came back as a default feature? Let's look at iPhone user's location known to nearby shops. iPhone also provides GPS capability.

If nearby shops eaves drop the communications between a mobile phone and an RBS, it'd be illegal. This communication channels were reserved for mobile operators and law enforcement, not general public.

If nearby shops provided free WiFi and mobile users hooked to those, it'd be mobile user's issue.



* Notes 2017-11-24:

This issue is bigger than we had thought about "location based services".

[SS7 attack could involve both GPS on the device and GPS coordinates was relayed via cellular telephony networks. 

How could the cellular network get the GPS coordinates? Phone OS? GPS features ON all the time? Did that person authorize the wireless operator to fetch the GPS coordinates?]

If they could track movement of a person, this could be used as "an assassination plot". It's way beyond privacy issue. Assassinator didn't need to follow a person, but could sit back/relax and record everything.

If an assassinator had to follow a person, there would be a good chance that law enforcement could catch him/her.

Promotion messages from a store pushed to somebody's cell phone walking nearby using "location based services" was based on free WiFi hotspot a phone connected to, cellular communication channel, or GPS of the phone communications?

If it was due to "WiFi hotspot" without having phone number of that person, it's annoying - but it's not very dangerous.

If it involved GPS or cellular communications, that person identity could be released via his phone number.

Location based services did save life, but how many lives have been lost or will be lost by the same service?

Source: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/cellphone-companies-may-step-privacy-014039634.html

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