Is Someone Following You?

Interested in knowing someone’s location at all times but less interested in doing the actual legwork required in following them? That information can be yours without setting foot outside of your home, all for the sum of $1,000, according to researchers from the University of Washington.

The same technology that companies use to direct their marketing efforts to consumers, oftentimes tailoring those ads based on information gleaned from a consumer’s browsing history can, in the wrong hands, also be used to determine the consumer's whereabouts.

"Anyone, from a foreign intelligence agent to a jealous spouse, can pretty easily sign up with a large internet advertising company and on a fairly modest budget use these ecosystems to track another individual's behavior," said lead author Paul Vines, a recent doctoral graduate in the UW's Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.

Purchasing an ad lets the buyer deliver location-based ads to the target's phone. Additionally, the buyer may also be able to view what apps were used by the target, which could reflect private details about the target's life, including dating habits, health, religion, political affiliation, etc.

Tracking and monitoring can potentially be achieved once the user learns a target's mobile advertising ID (MAID). The MAID is a unique identifier that makes it possible for marketers to tailor advertisements to the user based on their interests. The MAID can also be accessed by eavesdropping on an unsecured wireless network or by gaining access to a user's WiFi router.

In their study, researchers showed that advertising service customers can purchase a number of hyperlocal ads, which can be served exclusively to that phone when its owner opens an app in a specific location. By setting up a grid of these location-based ads, the buyer can locate the target's moves if the app is opened and the target stays in the location long enough for an ad to be served (for roughly four minutes the team determined). Researchers were able to pinpoint the target's location within nearly 8 meters.

Those using the information for intentions other than marketing could potentially apply the technology to determine if certain targets are away from their homes so that they can gain access in their absence. Likewise, the technology can be used by the sophisticated stalker, wanting to know where his or her object of affection is each moment of the day or what apps they are using by simply targeting their device.

Seems that this justifies an overwhelming fear that all of our jobs are in danger of being automated…even for those in the business of stalking.