_New untested technology is being embraced by a gulliable public ..
	New technologies are unwillingly opening your whole life to the Government and corporations. Apple lied: Patent filed to track customers Police able to scan your phone in minutes Privacy watchdogs demand answers from Apple Police in Michigan have i-phone extraction devices i-phone hacked easily -video

Apple Lied: Filed Patent for Mobile Device Tracking

1st May 2011

 

Apple's claim that the geolocation tracking of its customers via a stealth file maintained in devices running the iOS operating system are, well, "patently" false.

The stealth iOS file records geolocation information derived from triangulating the location of a device using the signals from the closest cell phone transmission towers and Wi-Fi access points. The data is continuously collected and recorded regardless of whether the user has chosen to disable location services features on their mobile device.

Apple released a statement earlier this week that claims the data collection is caused by a software bug that will be remediated in a soon to be issued update to the iOS. Apple admitted that the information was being sent to the company, but they maintain that they are unable to trace the data a particular phone or user.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs even stated directly that "We don't track anyone. The info circulating around is false."

Reports have now surfaced that demonstrate these assurances are false.

Apple filed for a patent in September of 2009 titled "Location Histories for Location Aware Devices" with the intent to develop services based around the company's ability to locate and track mobile devices running the iOS operating system.

The abstract of the patent reads as follows:

"A location aware mobile device can include a baseband processor for communicating with one or more communication networks, such as a cellular network or WiFi network. In some implementations, the baseband processor can collect network information (e.g., transmitter IDs) over time. Upon request by a user or application, the network information can be translated to estimated position coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, altitude) of the location aware device for display on a map view or for other purposes. A user or application can query the location history database with a timestamp or other query to retrieve all or part of the location history for display in a map view."

The patent text goes on to outline how the tracking data could be accessed by applications, indicating Apple intends to build salable services around the collected data and allow third parties the ability to access it:

"A user or application can query the location history database with a timestamp or other query to retrieve all or part of the location history for display in a map view. In some implementations, the size and "freshness" of the location history database can be managed by eliminating duplicate entries in the database and/or removing older entries. The location history can be used to construct a travel timeline for the location aware device. The travel timeline can be displayed in a map view or used by location aware applications running on the location aware device or on a network. In some implementations, an Application Programming Interface (API) can be used by an application to query the location history database."

The patent application then goes on to describe how the location tracking data can include transmitter identifiers that correlate the data to a specific phone - which means a specific user - and how the data can be transmitted to network servers for processing:

"In some implementations, the network information can include transmitter identifiers (IDs). For example, Cell IDs can be tracked and recorded. The Cell IDs can be mapped to corresponding cell tower locations which can be used to provide estimated position coordinates of the location aware device. When a location history is requested by a user or application (e.g., through an API), the transmitter IDs can be translated to position coordinates of the location aware device which can be reverse geocoded to map locations for display on a map view or for other purposes. In other implementations, the network information can include WiFi scan data (e.g., access point IDs) which can be used to determine position coordinates of the location aware device, which can be reverse geocoded for display on a map view. In some implementations, the network information can be sent to a network server, which can translate the network information into position coordinates, which can be returned to the location aware device for processing by a location aware application."

Revelations of the patent application now confirm suspicions that Apple was quite aware of the storage of geolocation tracking data, that it was not merely a database of Wi-Fi locations, and the building of location histories on their customers was not due to a software glitch.

The full Apple patent application can be found HERE.

STORYLINK

 

Are Police Able to Search Your Cell Phone?

Tuesday, 26 April 2011 10:01

 

Michigan State Police ARE ALREADY ILLEGALLY Searching and datamining Cell Phones On A Massive Scale!

 

Cell phones contain more private information about you and your activities than just about anything else. They keep track of where you are at all times, everyone you call or text, email, social networking, photos, videos, personal files and much more. Would you want strangers to have access to all of this data?

Michigan State Police have reportedly been downloading data from cell phones of motorists that get pulled over for minor infractions like speeding, as if 8 million warrantless requests to Sprint weren’t enough. They use a special piece of hardware to download all of the data on the phone, including information the user has deleted.

What makes matters worse, the MSP are refusing to turn over information about the data they extract, procedures to get the data or why they get data unless a fee of $500,000 is paid. Does anyone know the average ransom paid to Somali pirates?

Violation Of Anyone’s Rights Is A Threat To Everyone’s Rights

Even if you are a completely honest person and think you have nothing to hide, think again. There are over 10,000 recorded laws in the US. Most honest people probably violate the law on a regular basis whether they know it or not.

If the police have access to such huge amounts of data about you, it can reveal violations of obscure, bureaucratic laws that you have never heard of. Or, that data could provide circumstantial evidence wrongly implicating you in crimes you had nothing to do with. That is assuming that no police officer will make improper use of the data. If you have read a single article on CopBlock, you know that abuse is very possible.

Here is what you can do to protect yourself from overzealous police who try to search your phone without cause.

Police Can Search Some Things

The law allows police to do a quick pat down to check for weapons when they stop you. There is not much more that they can do to search you unless your give them permission or they arrest you.

Hopefully you can avoid arrest, but Michigan State Police officers might be very diligent in trying to get you to consent to a search of your phone.

How To Prevent A Search Of Your Cell Phone

The key is to politely refuse their request. One of the best ways to avoid giving consent is to clearly and politely say “ I do not consent to any searches.”

If they are asking, they probably don’t have enough cause to search your phone without your consent. Refusing to give consent alone cannot give police sufficient grounds to search without your consent. If they continue to search your phone, that search will likely be unconstitutional and any evidence obtained as a result of that search will be considered fruit of the poisonous tree and be thrown out.

“I Don’t Consent To Any Searches”

You should learn this phrase well and use it any time an officer asks to search you, your car, your backpack, your house, your wallet, or asks for your cell phone. Just because they ask for a cell phone does not mean that you have to provide it.

Knowing your rights is the best way to protect your private data from overzealous police. But the law and the government can’t always protect you. Here are some ways to have better cell phone security, especially if you plan on encountering law enforcement.

Protect Yourself

Don’t carry a cell phone. This may be useful if you are going to a protest or rally where you expect a heavy police presence, and it may be a good excuse for some people who want to un-tether themselves from the matrix. It probably won’t be practical for every day use or chance encounters with police.

Use a prepaid cell phone. If you buy them with cash and replace them regularly, they will not have a large amount of data on them. The less data available the better.

Regularly wipe your cell phone. Getting rid of old data on a regular basis will also reduce the data available. Every make of phone has a different way to do this so check with your phone company to see how.

Encrypt as much of your phone as possible. This can be very tricky because encrypted emails, secure text messaging, storing encrypted files, and anonymous web surfing are more difficult on your phone than your laptop. You may need a separate application to encrypt each type of data and not all phones are created equal in the security department. Fortunately, the Fifth Amendment protects people from revealing their encryption keys.

Use call forwarding services. This is not foolproof, but using a free or paid call forwarding service can reduce the amount of data stored directly on your phone, adding an extra step the Michigan State Police will have to take to get your data.

File an official complaint with the police department. Complaints about any officer that unjustly takes or searches your phone after you have refused consent may be the kind of record that will help someone successfully sue that officer or the police department in the future for improper conduct.

Conclusion

Michigan State Police are downloading the data on people’s phones on a massive scale. This kind of data mining can be prevented by people who stand up for their rights. Don’t consent to letting a police officer search your phone. Help them to better spend their time protecting people and property from real crime. Learn more ways to protect your private data to protect yourself from overzealous police and lots of other threats.

 

Storylink

 

 

PRIVACY GROUPS QUESTION APPLE ON TRACKING APPS:
Jordan Robertson, AP Technology Writer, On Friday April 22, 2011, 12:07 am EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Privacy watchdogs are demanding answers from Apple Inc. about why iPhones and iPads are secretly collecting location data on users -- records that cellular service providers routinely keep but require a court order to disgorge.

It's not clear if other smartphones and tablet computers are logging such information on their users. And this week's revelation that the Apple devices do wasn't even new -- some security experts began warning about the issue a year ago.

But the worry prompted by a report from researchers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden at a technology conference in Santa Clara, Calif., raises questions about how much privacy you implicitly surrender by carrying around a smartphone and the responsibility of the smartphone makers to protect sensitive data that flows through their devices.

Much of the concern about the iPhone and iPad tracking stems from the fact the computers are logging users' physical coordinates without users knowing it -- and that that information is then stored in an unencrypted form that would be easy for a hacker or a suspicious spouse or a law enforcement officer to find without a warrant.

Researchers emphasize that there's no evidence that Apple itself has access to this data. The data apparently stays on the device itself, and computers the data is backed up to. Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press.

Tracking is a normal part of owning a cellphone. What's done with that data, though, is where the controversy lies.

A central question in this controversy is whether a smartphone should act merely as a conduit of location data to service providers and approved applications -- or as a more active participant by storing the data itself, to make location-based applications run more smoothly or help better target mobile ads or any number of other uses.

Location data is some of the most valuable information a mobile phone can provide, since it can tell advertisers not only where someone's been, but also where they might be going -- and what they might be inclined to buy when they get there.

Allan and Warden said the location coordinates and time stamps in the Apple devices aren't always exact, but appear in a file that typically contains about a year's worth of data that when taken together provide a detailed view of users' travels.

"We're not sure why Apple is gathering this data, but it's clearly intentional, as the database is being restored across backups, and even device migrations," they wrote in a blog posting announcing the research.

Allan said in an email to the AP that he and Warden haven't looked at how other smartphones behave in this regard, but added there's suspicion that phones that run Google Inc.'s Android software might behave in a similar way and is being investigated.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alex Levinson, a security expert, said the tracking Apple's devices do isn't new -- or a surprise to those in the computer forensics community.

The Apple devices have been retaining the information for some time, but it was kept in a different form until the release of the iOS 4 operating software last year, Levinson, technical lead for the Katana Forensics firm, wrote on his blog.

Through his work with law enforcement agencies, Levinson said he was able to access the location data in older iPhones and warned about the issue over a year ago. The location data is now easier to find because of a change in the way iPhone applications access the data, he said.

"Either way, it is not secret, malicious, or hidden," Levinson wrote. "Users still have to approve location access to any application and have the ability to instantly turn off location services to applications inside the settings menu on their device."

The existence of the location-data file on the phone is alarming because it's unencrypted, the researchers said, which means that anyone with access to the device can see it.

Charlie Miller, a prominent iPhone hacker, said a security change that Apple made last month would make extracting the file from the phone in a remote attack very difficult. Even if an attacker were to break into someone's phone looking for the file, he wouldn't have the right privileges to access the file.

The data is "pretty well-protected on the phone," Miller, principal security analyst with Independent Security Evaluators, said in an interview.

"On the phone, they take a lot of precautions." He said. "It's sort of frightening in the sense that it's there, and it's full of information about where you've been, but the good news is it's not easy to get to."

But it's a different matter when the data is transferred to another computer in a backup. If the backup computer is infected with malicious software, the file could easily be located and sent to the hacker. A way to protect against that is to encrypt the iPhone backup through iTunes, the researchers said.

The issue has prompted several members of Congress to write letters to Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., to answer questions about the practice.

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said it raises "serious privacy concerns," especially for children using the devices, since "anyone who gains access to this single file could likely determine the location of a user's home, the businesses he frequents, the doctors he visits, the schools his children attend, and the trips he has taken -- over the past months or even a year."

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., questioned whether the practice may be illegal under a federal law governing the use of location information for commercial purposes, if consumers weren't properly informed.

"Apple needs to safeguard the personal location information of its users to ensure that an iPhone doesn't become an iTrack," he said in a statement. "Collecting, storing and disclosing a consumer's location for commercial purposes without their express permission is unacceptable and would violate current law."

Apple shares rose $9.20, or 2.7 percent, to $351.71 on the strength of the company's latest quarterly financial results, which showed Apple's net income nearly doubled, in large part on strength of iPhone sales.

 

Story Link

and

APPLE under fire for privacy breach

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SkdBAO-Ioc

Police in Michigan have -

 

i-Phone info extraction devices

Used to steal Private Citizens DATA

i-phone + SMART PHONES BEWARE:

Hacked in 90 seconds

 

 

--Mark Fancher, attorney at the ACLU Michigan, joins us to talk about police extracting personal information from cell phones during traffic stops, the Michigan State Police stonewalling the ACLU's investigation, and more.

--On the Bonus Show Senator Carl Levin wants to prosecute Goldman Sachs executives, Stephanopolous and Bachmann settle birther dispute, heinous killing in Florida, more.

The David Pakman Show is an internationally syndicated talk radio and television program hosted by David Pakman

 

 

 

 

Video: iPhone hacked to support the Magic Mouse

• 28 Comments

by Greg Kumparak on January 4, 2010

Those gifted gents over at the BTStack might just be too clever for their own good. First they blow our minds by sneaking Wiimote support onto the iPhone, and then tickle our productivity-loving souls by hacking in Bluetooth keyboard support. It’s a bit awkward to be typing away on a physical keyboard, only to have to reach over and poke the screen whenever you want to do something – wouldn’t it be nice to be able to use a mouse instead?

Yes, yes it would. And the BTStack guys agree.

It’s still a private project, so it’s not quite ready for the likes of you and I quite yet – but if this video is any indication, it’s working like a dream. And hey, don’t bother me with that “At this point, you might as well be carrying a netbook!” nonsense. This is magic, folks. Magic.