iPhone Tracks Users' Movements, Email, Photos, GPS Coordinates

[TriWooOx]

Quote:Apple iPhones and 3G iPads are secretly recording and storing details of all their owners' movements, researchers claim.

Location data is kept in a hidden, unencrypted file according to security experts Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden.

With the right software, it can be used to map exactly where a person has been.

Apple has yet to comment on the revelation, however there in no suggestion that it has been uploading or using the information.

The findings, first reported by the Guardian newspaper, will come as a surprise to most iPhone users, as their devices do not give any visual indication that such data is being recorded.

However, although the practice is not explicitly flagged-up, it appears to be covered in the company's terms of use.

"We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behaviour and improve our products, services, and advertising"
Clearly intentional

Writing on the technology website O'Reilly Radar, Mr Allan and Mr Warden said they did not know why iPhones and iPads were collecting location information but it was "clearly intentional".

The men claim that the facility to record users' positions was added with the iOS4 software update, released in June 2010.

The data is also transferred to the owner's computer and stored in a file there each time the two devices are connected to carry-out a backup or synchronisation.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos, told BBC News that it was unlikely Apple planned to use the information for commercial purposes.

"I think there are some legitimate privacy concerns and people will probably look for a way of obscuring that data," he said.

"But it is an object lesson about reading the terms and conditions," he added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13145562

[FastTadpole]

Hardly surprising considering the Sprint incident where GPS coordinates were relayed to intelligence agencies via the over 8 million pings that were executed on cell phone customers.

Interesting individual in connection with Apple's Biggest Parts Producer based in Taiwan (Foxconn), the FAA, AT&T, Homeland Security's CyberSecurity initiative:

Former ATT/ Bell Labs Cybersecurity Expert
Former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) CIO
President and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Homeland Security Expert Advisory on Cybersecurity
Director of the North American Telecommunications Association
Director Japan-U.S Telecommunications Research Institute
Director United States Telecommunications Training Institute.
Independent Non Executive Director, Member of Audit Committee and Member of Remuneration Committee for Foxconn International Holdings Limited

So who is this guy with all these titles and wtf does this have to do with Apple iPhones tracking where people go (++ can tap into what they say txt, who they associate with, what they buy, how they entertain themselves, who they associate with..)?

Quote:Dr. Daniel Joseph Mehan (a.k.a. fascist globalist government corporate police state CEO) served as the Chief Information Officer of the Federal Aviation Administration from 1999 to 2005 and also served as its Assistant Administrator for Information Services. Dr. Mehan was responsible for the implementation of the FAA's Information Systems Security, E-Government, and Process Improvement Programs.

Prior to FAA, Dr. Mehan served 30 years at AT&T. Dr. Mehan served as an International Vice President of AT&T, where he provided leadership ... to team aligning and optimizing the processes and systems of AT&T's global operations from 1995 to 1998. He was responsible for leading efforts to align and optimize the processes and systems of AT&T's global operations. His prior positions within AT&T included International Chief Information Officer and Commercial Market Services Vice President, Product and Market Management Vice President for General Business Systems, and Material Management and Customer Service Director for AT&T's Equipment Businesses. Dr. Mehan began his AT&T career as a Member of the Technical Staff of Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dr. Mehan has strong background in information systems, cyber security, business management, marketing initiatives and technology development. He has been an Independent Non Executive Director of Foxconn International Holdings Limited since July 2007.

He serves as a Director of the North American Telecommunications Association, the Japan-U.S Telecommunications Research Institute, and the United States Telecommunications Training Institute.

Dr. Mehan graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering. He also has a Master's Degree in Systems Engineering and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the University of Pennsylvania.

Personal Profile: http://investing.businessweek.com/busine...ings%20Ltd
Mehan's known Foxconn Associates in Taiwan: http://investing.businessweek.com/busine...Id=7262753

Quote:..the $12 billion deal to produce and assemble components for Apple and other mobile items is heavily concentrated in the Amazon high tech free trade zone where unions have little leverage to help workers get higher wages; to help win this deal Dilma recently extended by decree the law establishing the zone for 50 years, citing strategic reasons.

Foxconn, the company behind the Apple deal, while the largest exporter of mobile components and devices from the Peoples Republic of China, is actually based in Taiwan. While China-friendly, its key board members have been closely identified with US business and communications intelligence interests including Dan Mehan, a former ATT/ Bell Labs cybersecurity expert.

Full Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-ehrma...51481.html

More on the China, Brazil and Apple/Foxconn Deal in this post:
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?t...#pid217440

Mehan was heading a lobby to repeal the corporate holdings, asset, building and infrastructure tax on all large franchises and corporation, foreign and domestic in Missouri as President and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It will be gradually applied and in full force by 2016. Obviously this will save corporations millions and drain corporate coffers. Companies like Apple will also be able to avoid reporting assets. This enables private cyber security and 'terrorist' watch programs to run privately with no disclosure of what they have deployed in the state.

In the midwestern United States Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Texas have no capital-based franchise tax and that Iowa and Kentucky only have a franchise tax for banks and investment companies. Kansas is phasing out its franchise tax next year.
ref: http://www.cnbc.com/id/42473307/

Mehan was defeding this lobby as well as being a voice in the Homeland Security. Mehan backed calls for more basic research on computer security in 2006. However, calls for the government to use its purchasing power to force software makers to improve the security of their products received a lukewarm response. .. 5 years ago but now we have massive investment in PPP military, homeland security and cyber security (see TSA, Honeywell, HP, Shell and Blackwater/XE).

So it begs the qeustion as to whether Apple and/or it's #1 parts supplier Foxconn to which Daniel Mehan is Independent Non Executive Director, Member of Audit Committee and Member of Remuneration Committee.

The blatant tracking data of personal travel (and whatever else) raises a huge red flag.

Government Execs Stand By Industry-Led Cyber-Security
Posted on Tuesday Feb 14th 2006 by Paul F. Roberts.
A panel of government IT executives admit there are some flaws but still defend the Bush Administration's policy of letting private sector companies drive cyber-security.
http://mobile.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Government-Execs-Stand-By-IndustryLed-CyberSecurity/

India is way entrenched in the cyber net in lock step in putting in place citizen tracking under the guise of health coverage, social programs, welfare fraud vigilance and citizen safety.

Africa is being brought up to speed with advanced wireless systems and tracking software for vaccine tracking statistics and education programs. Leading this African 'humanitarian' project is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the IMF, the WHO and the United Nations.

.. but that's another story I'm looking into

back on topic

Dr. Dan Mehan has been at this from the get go when he was FAA CIO during the 9/11 attacks and then jumped immediately to sound the cyber-security alarm to leech funding for private sector solutions to protect us from terrorists and later ourselves.

Quote:Security confab calls for U.S. spending
February 21, 2002 5:30 PM PST
By Robert Lemos

Two U.S. legislators, a Department of Defense officer and two security experts from government agencies told attendees Thursday at the RSA Conference 2002 that more money from U.S. coffers needs to go to cybersecurity.

..

That cyberattacks may be the next unexpected form of terrorism was a common thread throughout the panel discussion. Yet, the solution that several members proposed was old hat: Devote more funds to the problem.

"We are preparing, and we need the cash flow to do that," said Dan Mehan, chief information officer for the Federal Aviation Administration and another member of the panel.

Although the United States has a disproportionate amount of power in most conventional arenas of competition, the cyberarena is different, Mehan said.

"Where we can be more disruptive in other areas, we can be more disrupted (in cyberspace) because of our reliance on networks," Mehan said. "The mainstream media talks about weapons of mass destruction; we in the cyberarena deal with weapons of mass disruption."

The panel focused a lot of its attention on the systems of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Another common thread among the panel's members was the call for the security industry, whose representatives made up the majority of the crowd at the conference, to aid the government with its expertise.

"Everyone has to take part in being a cybercitizen, especially in the corporate world,"

Full Article: http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-842795.html

Interesting that timing on his 30 year tenure with AT&T coincides with the NSA pipes being installed on the main trunkline for massive catch-all taps on phone communications, foreign and domestic.

He's also big on going green which seems a bit hypocritical since Foxconn is building an industrial plant in the Amazon and using toxic components mined from a National Park in the Congo.

Here's the feel good story of the year in a whitewashed Wired investigation into 17 suicides and working conditions at Foxconn, Apple's and Mehan's favourite parts manufacturer conveniently located in a tax exempt and free trade zone for technology just like their Brazil plant and maybe in 2016 the US Midwest will have some Apple slaves working on producing another Billion devices to track your every move.

Never had a cell phone. Never will. It's bad enough I have a computer and a 'smart' meter

Related:

NSA Creating Spy System to Monitor Domestic Infrastructure
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=33834

Smart Dust: HP & Shell to deploy Central Nervous System for Earth (CeNSE) via 1T Micro-Sensors + DARPA and Honeywell
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=33737

Jesse Schell - DICE 2010: Design Outside the Box - Disturbing Presentation on Gaming Psychology, Technology, Social Engineering and Marketing
http://concen.org/tracker/torrents-details.php?id=18423
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=34080

Pilots taking a Stand against X-Ray Backscatters, Body Scanners and Pat-Downs
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=35502

A Privately Owned Tax Funded Military - Blackwater/XE, IPOA Outsourced Recruitment
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=34645

Disconnect from The Cell Phone Trap or Fry Your Brain & CNS. Now You Know. The Choice is Yours Alone to Make.
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=35474

Bill Gates Newborn Vaccine Registration Program + Other Gates Foundation Population Control, Monitoring & Compliance
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=35597

iPad
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=31207

[TriWooOx]

[Fix4You]

Thanks for posting this.

[FastTadpole]

What was wrote above was not a tangent in the least and connects oh so much of how . I encourage my fellows to look into it themselves, time permitting and share what they can dig up too on any aspect of how to get out of this net before we're too entangled in it's web.

I suppose the easy and obvious thing to do would be to unplug and live in a mound but I feel that's just giving up on everyone else. Besides those survivalists, no matter how fortified, may end up being hunted for sport as the Aborigines once were.

It takes a mass movement out of the trap of the city cesspool to really make any difference.

That has been said so I'm going to get back to more on the main topic of the thread starter.

These guys go deep into what exactly Apple software is tracking on iPhones.

Quote:O'Reilly :: iPhone Tracking Discussion





Uploaded by OreillyMedia on 20 Apr 2011

Pete Warden and Alasdair Allan talking about how they discovered the existence of the tracking database on the iPhone, and what it might mean. Also how they went about exploring and visualising the data once they knew it was there, and show how it could be used to track individuals movements over time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GynEFV4hsA0

Quote:iPhone Contains Secret File That Constantly Tracks Your Location
April 20, 2011
Public Intelligence

Got an iPhone or 3G iPad? Apple is recording your moves (O’Reilly Media):

Today at Where 2.0 Pete Warden and I will announce the discovery that your iPhone, and your 3G iPad, is regularly recording the position of your device into a hidden file. Ever since iOS 4 arrived, your device has been storing a long list of locations and time stamps. 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.

The presence of this data on your iPhone, your iPad, and your backups has security and privacy implications. We’ve contacted Apple’s Product Security team, but we haven’t heard back.

What makes this issue worse is that the file is unencrypted and unprotected, and it’s on any machine you’ve synched with your iOS device. It can also be easily accessed on the device itself if it falls into the wrong hands. Anybody with access to this file knows where you’ve been over the last year, since iOS 4 was released.

…

All iPhones appear to log your location to a file called “consolidated.db.” This contains latitude-longitude coordinates along with a timestamp. The coordinates aren’t always exact, but they are pretty detailed. There can be tens of thousands of data points in this file, and it appears the collection started with iOS 4, so there’s typically around a year’s worth of information at this point. Our best guess is that the location is determined by cell-tower triangulation, and the timing of the recording is erratic, with a widely varying frequency of updates that may be triggered by traveling between cells or activity on the phone itself.

iPhone Tracker Mapping Software (github):

This open-source application maps the information that your iPhone is recording about your movements. It doesn’t record anything itself, it only displays files that are already hidden on your computer.




http://vimeo.com/22610355

Washington DC to New York from Alasdair Allan on Vimeo.

http://publicintelligence.net/iphone-con...-location/

[FastTadpole]

Seems that safety standards aren't really up to snuff at iPad Manufacturer Foxconn either.

Quote:Foxconn explosion: Apple iPad supply impact unclear, dangers of combustible dust
By Larry Dignan | May 23, 2011, 7:28am PDT

An explosion at a Hon Hai plant on Friday killed three and may impact Apple iPad supplies, according to analysts.

The Hon Hai—also known as Foxconn—explosion was at a plant that builds iPads for Apple. Analysts have been handicapping the impact on Apple’s supply chain and thus far it’s unclear. Short-term there’s likely to be little impact. In the long run, however, regulation may force plant changes as Hon Hai retools and cleans up its operations.

The biggest reason why regulation may become an issue is the cause of the explosion. The blast was reportedly traced to combustible dust that gathered in a polishing workshop. Hon Hai has suspended polishing operations in its factories.

In 2008, 60 Minutes did a story on combustible dust and examined why things weren’t regulated better. An excerpt and video from that story:

Since 1980, there have been at least 350 such explosions in the U.S., killing 133 people and injuring hundreds more. There are at least 30,000 factories in the nation vulnerable to dust explosions, and yet, some top federal safety officials tell 60 Minutes the government agency whose job it is to protect workers is ignoring a tried-and-true way to prevent those explosions.

..

Full Story: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/foxconn-ex...ag=nl.e550

Notice that 60 minutes tries to frame this as US regulation.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. is a plant based in Chengdu, China. Hon Hai is the flagship unit of Foxconn Technology Group, maker of Apple Inc. iPhones and iPads.

[SiLVa]

As part of the business phone plan, we upgraded phones and I was given an iPhone 3gs in the beginning of 2010. I never did the update tho so it's not currently running on iOS4. I had a feeling that new update had a catch so I never cared to change it despite the new features. I'm glad I didn't, but still wonder if that even makes a difference really in the long run.

[cupcake21]

Impressive. Do you happen to know what Mehan is doing now?

[FastTadpole]

(06-29-2011 08:50 PM)cupcake21 Wrote:  Impressive. Do you happen to know what Mehan is doing now?

Current Positions.

President and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Homeland Security Expert Advisory on Cybersecurity
Director of the North American Telecommunications Association
Director Japan-U.S Telecommunications Research Institute
Director United States Telecommunications Training Institute.
Independent Non Executive Director, Member of Audit Committee and Member of Remuneration Committee for Foxconn International Holdings Limited

Mehan Lobbying State Governments to open up more free trade no minimum wage "job creation" areas for the likes of slave labour companies like Apple Inc's primary supplier Foxconn in the US just like they did in Brazil and other countries where minimum wage/labour standards and unions are a roadblock to corporate proliferation.

It's the Chinese economic model but on a global scale for corporate takeover. They seem to be getting help indirectly from the IMF and WTO in landing contracts and allowing these worker farm zones to propagate.

Related:

BRICS Summit: Far East Bloc versus America: 'Great Game' for Global Order via Banking and Currency?
http://concen.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=3740

[FastTadpole]

Here comes the banking plank of the iEmpire. Digital one world currency currency powered by a closed system interface. Is the puzzle looking a little more clear to the MAC Heads or is this brand worship shoved this obvious scheme's agenda up their MAC asses?

Not that a Windows, Android (Google) or any other platform/interface would yeild any different results in the end and it really all one company if you peel back the curtain anyways.

Straight from the mouth of the beast, that keeps on feeding on ignorance with the bribe of convenience, perceived status and style. This is just the once click (off of the safari portal / Apple startpage) deep public release of the plan laid out for all to see

Quote:Standard Charted

Multinational banking goes mobile.

Standard Chartered Bank is an international bank with 1800 branches on six continents, dozens of recent industry awards, and steadily increasing profits through organic growth and acquisitions. iPhone and iPad provide a perfect platform to expand the bank’s mobile services, both internally and to its increasingly tech-savvy customers.

In the wake of the 2009 global financial crisis, Standard Chartered Bank immediately set to work reinforcing customer relationships. “As a leader in the industry, we needed to regain customer confidence,” says Mary Huen, Head of Consumer Banking in Hong Kong. “And rebuilding that confidence is not about just pushing products and services — it’s about using the best technology to foster deep, longstanding relationships with our customers. It’s about helping them manage their money better.”

iPad and iPhone enable the bank to forge new customer connections and strengthen existing bonds. “With iPhone and iPad, we’re really looking at the next generation of banking,” says Todd Schofield, Global Head of Enterprise Mobility at Standard Chartered Bank. “Managing our customers’ money is a responsibility we take very seriously, and our mobile services reflect that.”

Global and Mobile

With a particular focus on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Standard Chartered sees immense potential to expand its mobile banking services among its increasingly tech-savvy customers. For consumers, the bank has developed Breeze, a suite of mobile banking and lifestyle applications. Corporate customers use the bank’s Sraight2Bank platform, which includes a mobile authorization app that gives corporate treasurers better control over transactions.

Internally, Standard Chartered has already deployed thousands of iPhones to employees worldwide. “For us, the obvious choice was iPhone,” says Jan Verplancke, Group CIO, Standard Chartered Bank. “iPhone creates an environment that’s easy. You can tap into the mobile world and bring applications to people on the go.”

The bank is also rapidly expanding its internal iPad usage to help personalize customer service and simplify everyday business activities. “Standard Chartered is at the forefront of innovation,” Huen says. “iPad helps us innovate by improving the way we interact with customers and provide services. Now we can be with our customers wherever they want to be in the branch.”

Banking on Internal Apps

As one of the first and largest corporate banks to standardize on the iPhone, Standard Chartered Bank has developed more than a dozen in-house iPhone apps, which qualified employees can download from an internal app store, the Standard Chartered App Centre. These custom-built apps streamline internal processes, securely transmit financial data, improve communication between customers and banking staff, and even tap into back-end systems such as PeopleSoft and SharePoint for management approvals and collaboration.

One example is the bank’s proprietary TradePort app, which enables Trade Finance Relationship Managers to securely perform or monitor trades on the go using their iPhones. Another valuable app is FX Rates, a real-time foreign exchange tool that shows Standard Chartered Bank’s own internal rates and ratios between currencies. “With FX Rates, a person in our trading room has up-to-date, holistic views of our exchange rates at any given time,” Verplancke notes.

In Hong Kong, one of its largest markets, Standard Chartered Bank uses iNeeds, a custom iPad app that lets Relationship Managers in bank branches create client profiles and explain the benefits of products such as savings accounts or mortgages via direct, one-on-one interactions. With iNeeds on iPad, bank employees gain a clearer understanding of customer priorities and can offer more relevant products.

“iPad redefines the way our Relationship Managers connect with their customers,” Huen says. “With iNeeds, they’re able to introduce products in a more engaging way, while deepening their understanding of that customer’s needs at that point in time. Together they can work on customized solutions on the spot. Everything becomes very simple, effective, and user-friendly.”

To develop its internal apps, the bank relies on a small team of programmers, graphic designers, and interface experts — and the tools and guidelines included in the iOS Software Development Kit (SDK). “The SDK is very standardized, which means that our apps are more stable and consistent across many different apps,” explains Schofield.

Securing the Future

With a world of sensitive financial and personal data to protect, Standard Chartered is vigilant about security on its mobile devices. “We are a bank, in the end, so security is of utmost importance,” says Verplancke. “As we are present in different markets, different regulations apply to us, so we always take the highest common denominator on security.”

Fortunately, iPhone and iPad are up to the task. “iPhone and iPad allow us to securely restrict our internal systems with VPN access,” Schofield says. “We use the encryption that’s built into iPhone and iPad, and we use our Exchange servers to implement security policies such as remote wipe.”

The bank also offers enhanced mobile security features for its customers, such as text messages confirming ATM activity. “Our job is to give people the tools that allow them to feel secure and counteract fraud,” Verplancke explains. If a customer gets a message about a transaction he or she didn’t make, “one tap on your phone and you're connected to our customer service department, which will block that transaction.”

With the security, convenience, and ease of use that iPad, iPhone, and custom apps bring to its operations, Standard Chartered is well prepared for the challenges — and opportunities — of this new era of banking. The bank has begun introducing location-based services to its mobile capabilities, and is exploring new features like augmented reality to make the user experience more profound.

“A lot of the things that we’re doing existed before,” Verplancke reflects. “It’s just that you couldn't put them together in an easy way. And that has a value. We want to be on the forefront with devices that clearly are on the forefront of it all: iPhone and iPad.”

http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/profi...chartered/

Control the gateway..

[FastTadpole]

Quote:Apple holding more cash than USA
Posted in Freaky Deaky, Technology
Posted by Phillis July 30, 2011 at 2:35 am

Latest figures from the US Treasury Department show that the country has an operating cash balance of $73.7bn (£45.3bn).

Apple’s most recent financial results put its reserves at $76.4bn.

The US House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill to raise the country’s debt ceiling, allowing it to borrow more money to cover spending commitments.

If it fails to extend the current limit of $14.3 trillion dollars, the federal government could find itself struggling to make payments, and risks the loss of its AAA credit rating.

The United States is currently spending around $200bn more than it collects in revenue every month.

Apple, on the other hand, is making money hand over fist, according to its financial results.

In the three months ending 25 June, net income was 125% higher than a year earlier at $7.31bn.

http://derrenbrown.co.uk/blog/2011/07/ap...-cash-usa/
Sourced from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14340470

[FastTadpole]

Nice to know that in this faux corporate competition the courts are at least highlighting some of the tracking patents the cell phone companies are employing and working on in Intellectual Property cases.

Quote:Motorola Loses ITC Case Against Against Apple for Proximity Sensor Patents

The U.S. International Trade Commission today ended Motorola's case against Apple, which accused the iPhone and Mac maker of patent infringement. In a ruling (PDF), the ITC said that Apple was not violating Motorola's U.S. patent covering proximity sensors, which the commission called 'obvious.' It was the last of six patents Motorola aimed at Apple as part of an October 2010 complaint.

http://apple.slashdot.org/story/13/04/22...or-patents
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-575808...nst-apple/
Apple vs. Motorola: http://apple.slashdot.org/story/12/09/19...nd-iphones
Ruling Document: http://usitc.gov/secretary/fed_reg_notic...013sgl.pdf

Any Apple thread is not complete without mentioning child labour.

Apple Admits Using Child Labour via Foxconn and Wintek iPhone Work Camps
http://concen.org/forum/thread-31702.html