Wi-Fi Positioning Systems

📖 The Scoop

The associated privacy issues range from lack of knowledge or consent of the mobile device owner for the use of the unique identifier, the possibility of unauthorized disclosure to third parties, or potential uses for secondary purposes. [...] When the computing device detects a wireless network, it collects the MAC address (and potentially the SSID) of the access point, associates this with the location (usually determined by GPS or other automated means) and signal strength of the detected network, and uploads the entire record to a database. [...] In the context of a cell phone conversation, for example, "[t]he recorded data will also reveal the identities of the caller and of the recipient of the call" which "goes well beyond what could be observable by bystanders."18 Records, as opposed to observations, are concrete, precise, potentially permanent, and may easily be analyzed and combined with other information.19 The potential for uninten [...] For instance, an individual (for clarity, we call him 'Bob') could drive up and down the streets of a neighbourhood each evening (at a time when residents are likely to be home) and quickly compile a database of the MAC addresses of most of the Wi-Fi enabled phones and computers owned by the residents of that neighbourhood.22 Extending this scenario, by setting up a wireless access point in a near [...] After submitting of the MAC addresses of these points to the WPS database, the known positions of one or more of these points is retrieved, allowing the device's location to be triangulated.

Genre: No Category (fancy, right?)