A fix is long overdue for one of the most extensive, yet lesser-known surveillance risks of our age: the technical vulnerabilities at the heart of the world’s mobile communications networks.
I read the article but I must’ve missed something: basically it’s saying if I go to another country and use my phone or device in roaming, my home telecom operator, and so my home country, can track me via the GSM signaling protocol. This is pretty much expected, so I don’t see the big deal, but …
Two questions:
Can a third country not related to my home country or the country I’m visiting track me? the article uses the example of Saudi Arabia tracking saudi citizens abroad, which is troubling but unsurprising. If an unrelated third party / country could track, that’s more interesting
Can’t I just avoid this by simply buying a local prepaid SIM card when traveling? The article says “there’s not much you can do about this” but if I were to buy a local SIM card, then I’m not roaming.
I see, thanks for the explanation. Yeah, burner phone, or I guess, have a “phone” using only wifi and use some secure messenger app to call & text (I want to say Signal, but that requires a phone number…), for the truly paranoid.
Yep, everyone is carrying a location device at all times, one that is reporting pretty accurate location information (within a few meters, probably closer by utilizing analytical systems that incorporate GPS data from other apps, not even ones on your phone).
I’d bet today you could geo-locate a person within 1 meter using just cell triangulation, because there’s a database of known power levels of each tower/antenna. Add in wifi and Bluetooth data, and well…
5G will make this tremendously more accurate, as each cell is far smaller. 4G can cover cells in the miles-radius range (though far less in urban areas), while 5G is limited to cell radius measured in feet - 2000ft at its best, most likely 50-200 in urban settings.
With smaller cells comes much more accurate location data from the network itself, data that is certainly retained and analyzed extensively.
And then there’s text messaging that is utterly insecure. Just capturing tower location data and messages could give someone tons of info about a person.
Been trying to tell folks this for years.
I read the article but I must’ve missed something: basically it’s saying if I go to another country and use my phone or device in roaming, my home telecom operator, and so my home country, can track me via the GSM signaling protocol. This is pretty much expected, so I don’t see the big deal, but …
Two questions:
You really don’t have to be roaming. There is no technical or lawful reason why it has to be roaming. Roaming is an excuse, not a reason.
Yes. All they need is your IMEI number
IMEI is an equipment identifier associated with your phone. You could buy a local SIM and a burner.
I see, thanks for the explanation. Yeah, burner phone, or I guess, have a “phone” using only wifi and use some secure messenger app to call & text (I want to say Signal, but that requires a phone number…), for the truly paranoid.
You can geolocate wifi phones too. It’s easier than mobile phones. But, good luck.
Yep, everyone is carrying a location device at all times, one that is reporting pretty accurate location information (within a few meters, probably closer by utilizing analytical systems that incorporate GPS data from other apps, not even ones on your phone).
I’d bet today you could geo-locate a person within 1 meter using just cell triangulation, because there’s a database of known power levels of each tower/antenna. Add in wifi and Bluetooth data, and well…
5G will make this tremendously more accurate, as each cell is far smaller. 4G can cover cells in the miles-radius range (though far less in urban areas), while 5G is limited to cell radius measured in feet - 2000ft at its best, most likely 50-200 in urban settings.
With smaller cells comes much more accurate location data from the network itself, data that is certainly retained and analyzed extensively.
And then there’s text messaging that is utterly insecure. Just capturing tower location data and messages could give someone tons of info about a person.