Location : Cleveland, OH
Interesting alternative view of the geo-location services we civilians mostly take for granted, from checking in on foursquare to adding tags to our uploaded pictures.
Sure, those in the armed forces need to be made aware of the potential issues with geo-location features. But what about civilians?
Certainly, the risks are different for civilians than they are for members of the military, for one thing, rarely do we experience rocket attacks. However, there is a pretty good point to the article: "Who really needs to know this location information?"
Thanks, Matt.
Link: Army.mil: Geotagging poses security risks
A deployed service member's situational awareness includes the world of social media. If a Soldier uploads a photo taken on his or her smartphone to Facebook, they could broadcast the exact location of their unit, said Steve Warren, deputy G2 for the Maneuver Center of Excellence, or MCoE.
"Today, in pretty much every single smartphone, there is built-in GPS," Warren said. "For every picture you take with that phone, it will automatically embed the latitude and longitude within the photograph."
Warren cited a real-world example from 2007. When a new fleet of helicopters arrived with an aviation unit at a base in Iraq, some Soldiers took pictures on the flightline, he said. From the photos that were uploaded to the Internet, the enemy was able to determine the exact location of the helicopters inside the compound and conduct a mortar attack, destroying four of the AH-64 Apaches.
Sure, those in the armed forces need to be made aware of the potential issues with geo-location features. But what about civilians?
"Some of those individuals have hundreds of 'friends' they may never have actually met in person, he explained. "By looking at someone's map tab on Facebook, you can see everywhere they've tagged a location. You can see the restaurants they frequent, the gym they go to everyday, even the street they live on if they're tagging photos of their home. Honestly, it's pretty scary how much an acquaintance that becomes a Facebook 'friend' can find out about your routines and habits if you're always tagging location to your posts."
Certainly, the risks are different for civilians than they are for members of the military, for one thing, rarely do we experience rocket attacks. However, there is a pretty good point to the article: "Who really needs to know this location information?"
Thanks, Matt.
Link: Army.mil: Geotagging poses security risks
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