As we become more and more reliant on our mobile devices to keep us in contact with the world—we are opening ourselves up to more and more observation by everyone from the government to retailers.

One of the emerging issues of the 21st century is sure to be locational privacy.

Here’s just a few examples of how it’s been breached.

BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE ROAM…

When cell phones first hit the scene—the only “roaming” you had to worry about was the “roaming” charge incurred when you left the area served by your cell phone carrier.

Now, we find out that researchers from Boston’s Northeastern University used cell phone data location transmission codes to track the movements of 100,000 folks to see how far away they roamed from their homes.

They conducted the study in Europe—because it’s illegal to intercept those signals in the U.S.

As you can read here various government officials here explain HOW that kind of spying is illegal—and we shouldn’t worry. But how are we to know that SOME  government agency somewhere isn’t already spying on us like that—or prepared to track us in the name of “national security?”

WHO NEEDS TO BE A FLY ON THE WALL ???

It was TWO YEARS AGO, when word broke the FBI was using cell phones to intercept conversations of Mafia members—thus giving the agency a “roving bug.”

Despite the fact the criminals turned off their cell phones, the FBI was able to remotely turn them on—activating the microphone on the phone.

That allowed the feds to record whatever was said near the phone.

When the FBI was finished—it turned the phones back off…

An archival version of that story detailing how the FBI went about it can be found here.

That bugging revelation prompted the creation of this video aimed at helping folks figure out if their cell phone is being bugged…

WHY AREN’T YOU ORDERING FRIES WITH THAT TODAY ??

It’s bad enough that retailers like supermarkets are using the “customer savings cards” to track our purchases— but now they want to track our movements with in the stores to find out why you’re NOT buying certain items.

The Prism system is going to be used by not only retailers like Wal-Mart—but by the Disney theme parks.

You can read more about it here.

And although the folks who are tracking us no doubt think this will be a great boon to retailing—the potential for mis-use of the technology is HUGE.

Not only are they rolling back prices—they’re rolling back our freedoms.

—Steve

Link to the story and video Steve covered today on NBC-17

Click on this map to see details on where readers are located

KudoSurf Me!

Blog Information Profile for instanteye

Add to: | blinklist | del.cio.us | digg | yahoo! | furl | rawsugar | shadows | netvouz

Remember the old joke that asks: What are the three biggest lies in the history of the world?

The answer is:

* Of course I love you..

* The check’s in the mail…

* I’m from the government, and you have nothing to worry about.

Well, today—the government’s chief spy is giving us PLENTY to worry about. He says the best way to help you stay protected is for him and his cohorts to see and read each and every thing you look at, or send down the Internet.

You can read here in greater detail how the director of National Intelligence wants to poke the government’s nose into your daily business. Mike McConnell says it’s vitally important that the government know everything that’s on the Internet to protect us….

In a post from last November, we told you about a claim made by a retired AT&T technician that in 2003 he helped place a device in that company’s San Fransisco switching office that was diverted and copied to a government computer all e-mails, calls and Internet sites people were accessing… The claim being made then was that there were nearly 2 dozen of those devices around the country..

Now, the government wants to know if my little girls are playing WEBKINS, or if my wife is shopping on-line at Old Navy.

This is a huge privacy issue… We’d never stand for allowing the Government to read the correspondence that comes to us in the U-S Mails—so why should we give up the right to privacy because we conduct life’s business electronically?

Yet, McConnell and his cloak and dagger folks say they should be able to do it. He says warrantless wiretapping “will look like a walk in the park” compared to the plans to do this unprecedented invasion of privacy…

George Orwell got it wrong.

Big Brother isn’t watching you. He’s got us in a headlock—and is searching through our pockets.

—Steve

Link here to the story Steve covered today on NBC-17

Years ago, Charlie Rich had a hit song titled Behind Closed Doors whose refrain was: “Oh, no-one knows what goes on behind closed doors…”

But, that may no longer be the case.

Just ask the government.

The principal deputy director of the office of National Intelligence says Americans have to change their definition of privacy—because it should no longer mean anonymity.

Dr. Donald Kerr

This link here details the story where Dr. Donald Kerr says the only privacy you’ll have is what ”government and business provide for people’s private communication and financial information”…

Sounds OK right?

Well.. Maybe not.

You see that same story details a claim by a retired AT&T technician who says he installed a device in 2003 that ”diverted and copied every call, email and Internet site” accessed via AT&T’s San Fransisco switching office.

And where did this copied information supposedly go?

You shouldn’t need more than one guess.

Yep… A U.S. government computer.

The story claims there’s close to 2 dozen similar sites all over the country doing the same thing!

It appears our friends in Washington are indiscriminately collecting each and every piece of information about us without worrying about those annoying ol’ search warrants…

No wonder they’re telling us we need to change our definition of privacy.

They’ve already done it…

But, you say— at least I can travel where I want without the government knowing where I am…

Ah…. that’s sort of going away too..

Seems a New Jersey university has become the first to want to know where every student is at all times—and is REQUIRING them to carry GPS tracking phones.

The story linked here explains how Montclair State University will use the GPS tracking… The police chief there saying it “allows the students to have an extra pair or group of people watching over them when they’re going from one location to another.”

But, whose going to make sure it’s not used for other purposes?

The government?

Seems to me they’ve already set up the playing field…It’s just a matter of time before their team starts scoring.

So—what do we do?

I don’t have the answer—I’m just asking the question.

If we live with the technology—we live with the potential for its abuse.

In the meantime, I fully expect this post is going to end up in some file somewhere—marked with a notation to keep an eye on the guy who wrote it—because he’s dangerous.

—Steve

Link here to the story Steve covered today on NBC-17

Photo of Dr. Kerr courtesy of: The National Reconnaissance Office