Wi-Fi-based Positioning Systems (WPSes) are used by modern mobile devices to learn their position using nearby Wi-Fi access points as landmarks. In this work, we show that Apple’s WPS can be abused to create a privacy threat on a global scale. We present an attack that allows an unprivileged attacker to amass a worldwide snapshot of Wi-Fi BSSID geolocations in only a matter of days. Our attack makes few assumptions, merely exploiting the fact that there are relatively few dense regions of allocated MAC address space. Applying this technique over the course of a year, we learned the precise locations of over 2 billion BSSIDs around the world. The privacy implications of such massive datasets become more stark when taken longitudinally, allowing the attacker to track devices’ movements. While most Wi-Fi access points do not move for long periods of time, many devices – like compact travel routers – are specifically designed to be mobile. We present several case studies that demonstrate the types of attacks on privacy that Apple’s WPS enables: We track devices moving in and out of war zones (specifically Ukraine and Gaza), the effects of natural disasters (specifically the fires in Maui), and the possibility of targeted individual tracking by proxy – all by remotely geolocating wireless access points. We provide recommendations to WPS operators and Wi-Fi access point manufacturers to enhance the privacy of hundreds of millions of users worldwide. Finally, we detail our efforts at responsibly disclosing this privacy vulnerability, and outline some mitigations that Apple and Wi-Fi access point manufacturers have implemented both independently and as a result of our work.

  • @Eheran
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    24 months ago

    How did they get SSID<->location information?

    • @[email protected]
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      44 months ago

      Looks like Apple’s API allowed them to just look up any MAC address without rate limiting.

      • @Eheran
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        24 months ago

        Okay but what about the position where the AP is?

        • LoudWaterHombre
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          44 months ago

          Google, Apple etc save lists of APs and their GPS coordinates via phones for example.

        • @[email protected]
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          24 months ago

          Probably with GPS. Or a combination of GPS and already known Access Points from multiple smartphones.

        • @GamingChairModel
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          14 months ago

          The tech companies literally drive around cars looking at what wifi beacons they see, and then store the locations where those BSSIDs were seen.