Phone companies selling your location to private entities and other privacy concerns.

This should come as no surprise, but it's a bit more flagrant than most would expect. Cell phone companies are giving access to phone location to third party companies.

The service is intended for certain entities to be able to buy access to the location of someone's phone, supplying only the phone number. But as many would guess, if your scope of clients is too wide, many will just use this service to resell the location at a high mark up.

Nervously, I gave a bounty hunter a phone number. He had offered to geolocate a phone for me, using a shady, overlooked service intended not for the cops, but for private individuals and businesses. Armed with just the number and a few hundred dollars, he said he could find the current location of most phones in the United States.

The bounty hunter sent the number to his own contact, who would track the phone. The contact responded with a screenshot of Google Maps, containing a blue circle indicating the phone’s current location, approximate to a few hundred metres.

Vice-Motherboard

Here's the price list for services to approved customers.



Now, as if that isn't bad enough, setting up the environment to make it easy for individuals to obtain this kind of information creates situations where LEO will just circumvent the legal system to locate individuals without warrants. While this may not send up red flags for everyone, keep in mind tomorrows situation may be different than today's.

Unfortunately, this is not the first instance of us learning about private entities having access to some of the most sensitive data, or even equipment.

In the last few years, the public was made aware of Harris Corporation's device called Stingray. Stingray is capable of presenting itself to nearby cell phones as the closest tower, forcing them to connect, and then recording all communication sent and received to said phone.

The StingRay is an IMSI-catcher with both passive (digital analyzer) and active (cell-site simulator) capabilities. When operating in active mode, the device mimics a wireless carrier cell tower in order to force all nearby mobile phones and other cellular data devices to connect to it.[9][10][11] The StingRay family of devices can be mounted in vehicles,[10] on aeroplanes, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.[12] Hand-carried versions are referred to under the trade name KingFish.[13]

Wiki


Here is an article done by The Intercept outlying how the devices are used by Law Enforcement, which should come as no surprise, so I'll skip adding any experts for the OP.

But just to touch on that point quickly, they are able to deploy the devices on planes and capture a large area's worth of communication. The concern is that large amounts of warrant-less surveillance is being used by the lower tiers of law enforcement, enabling them to cut corners or create instances of entrapment or setting someone up to commit a crime they may have not done if left to their own devices.

Whatever your stance on the authorities using this technology, anytime you make technology like this widely available, it's just a matter of time before it makes it into the wrong hands.

The DHS released that Washington DC is littered with Stingray like devices and are essentially capturing much/most of the communication in the area. Most of those devices are unauthorized and expected to be used by criminals and foreign intel agences.

Then we have the FCC opening an investigation into the use of Stingray devices against the protesters at the Dakota Pipeline. This suggests that it would have been implimented by private security and not law enforcement.

The problem with this issue is many people see it as a viable tool for law enforcement, but don't recognize that it is not only a tool to abuse rights violations, but also makes the market too saturated enabling rogue belligerents to acquire them and use it for malice.

Unfortunately, this issue is one too far past. Pandora's box is already opened, the tools are out there for the highest bidder, all we can do now is be aware.

I was just reading this not 2 hours ago. It also led me to something else that is very problematic that I'll discuss a bit later when I can bash out a post.

Good info. Shows just how vulnerable our information and location can be. This information can be used by ANYBODY. X'es, stalkers and even promotes for a new style of serial killer.



The government and people alike need to wake up and see how nefarious these companies are for the sake of the dollar. Informational privacy should be just as secure and bound by law as our personal privacy given to us by the US Constitution. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do against them without the help of the government. This is how far it's come and how deep it goes. If you have a phone and or internet... You have no privacy, what so ever. They know who, where and what you are in to at any time, place and day of your life.

What's even scarier... Pair that with AI. May as well just bow and take a knee now. This should be the next platform for the 2020 election!

a reply to: StallionDuck

We need serious reform to how privacy is handled.

Unfortunately, this will only happen if this gets exploited and a high profile exec or representative gets put into a situation they are compromised because of it.

Even then, profit is taking a front seat in the constitution over our rights (or so it seems).

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Even then, profit is taking a front seat in the constitution over our rights (or so it seems).

That's exactly what's happened and is happening -- not just seems to be happening. It is happening.

And it was and is by design. It starts with corporations being given special "rights" and privileges and entitlements... it continues with courts declaring corporations "people"... and with sweetheart deals between critters and corps... and with income taxes on the sweat and labor of the people... and with tax loopholes so big you could drive a Mack truck through them... and with corporate welfare at the expense of the taxpayers... and it gets really ugly when govt critters use that unauthorized power to force these corporations into doing their sinister bidding... they can spy on judges and other critters and instead of prosecuting wrongdoing use it to blackmail...

And with this ungodly power, the corporations can silent dissent on social media forums like Twitter and Facebook by banning whatever they deem "hate speech" and whoever dares to utter that "hate speech"... they can de-monetize YouTube accounts... they can refuse to provide banking and credit services (think guns and medical marijuana)...

But people will still defend and rationalize and excuse such gross abuses of power if they think it benefits them and hurts their "enemies."

Not only location data, but your names to and info to other companies.
Put a phone in my name for a friend and suddenly started getting mail at his address asking for dontations to the university.
Buncha scum bags

it's just a matter of time before it makes it into the wrong hands.

That's what this guy is warning us about:

Russian Patriarch Warns ‘Antichrist’ Will Control Humans Through Gadgets

Patriarch Kirill said that the collection of user data including “location, interests and fears” will make it possible for humans to be controlled by external forces.

“The Antichrist is a personality that will be at the head of the world wide web controlling the entire human race. Thus, the structure itself presents a danger,” he said.

themoscowtimes.com...

a reply to: Boadicea

And with this ungodly power, the corporations can silent dissent on social media forums like Twitter and Facebook by banning whatever they deem "hate speech" and whoever dares to utter that "hate speech"... they can de-monetize YouTube accounts... they can refuse to provide banking and credit services (think guns and medical marijuana)...

And it's only going to get worse. Those companies seem to get protection if they play ball with the feds, too many times have they been caught in hot water only for it to get brushed under the rug.

I'm keeping my eye on Amazon, they are hosting the cloud for the CIA, and are favored to get the Pentagon cloud soon. Good luck to anyone trying to hold Amazon accountable once they are one of the vaults for sensitive or classified information for the government.

God forbid they do a backdoor deal for the government to have access to any devises with Alexa.

I forget which US ISP it was now but 10 years ago I found a price-list for law enforcement to access all info about a certain user. All emails, instant messages and web traffic was sold for a certain price. (I think it was 80 dollars). The price was more than what the user paid in monthly subscription fees.

originally posted by: Macenroe82
Not only location data, but your names to and info to other companies.
Put a phone in my name for a friend and suddenly started getting mail at his address asking for dontations to the university.
Buncha scum bags

Almost makes you miss the days when we were bitching about the DMV and the Post Office giving out our addresses for $$.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I'm keeping my eye on Amazon, they are hosting the cloud for the CIA, and are favored to get the Pentagon cloud soon.

We're on the same page... I was literally thinking of Amazon (and Bezos) as I wrote my comment to you. And it's a crying shame, but to be expected I guess, because Amazon started as an awesome marketplace for both consumers and merchants. In many ways, the perfect free-market marketplace for all. So I guess we should expect that the critters cannot have that, and had to get their hooks in...

a reply to: shawmanfromny

I'm not a David Icke follower, but I do find his stuff interesting. Many Icke vids on YouTube. Lots of people think he's a nutjob, but say what you want, he warned of this stuff 20 years ago. Way before social media, Amazon, wifi networks, even before the internet was really huge.

He didn't just make inferences. He talked about this exact stuff.

Welcome to the corporatocracy. Worse than 1984 as you don't own rights to your DNA, your isp info, etc. and coming soon on more than just FB, your facial recognition.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Exactly, annoying as it was. They are so on top of that one time I wasn't even completely moved yet having the insurance hounding me.