Tag Archive for: surveillance

Digital Footprint: Exposing Your Secrets, Eroding Your Privacy

Does your digital footprint expose your secrets to the wrong people? 

National Public Radio and the Center for Investigative Reporting recently presented a four part series about privacy (online and off) called, Your Digital Trail. To get the gist of how little privacy you have as a result of the social media, credit cards and mobile technology you use, watch this accurate and eye-opening explanation of how you are constantly being tracked. 
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqWuioPHhz0]Marketers, data aggregators, advertisers, the government and even criminals have access to a vivid picture of who you are. NPR calls it your digital trail; for years, I’ve referred to it as your digital footprint. Let’s take quick look of what makes up your digital footprint.

What is your digital footprint? 

Just like a car leaving exhaust as it runs, you leave digital traces of who you are without even knowing it. Here is a partial list of the ways that you are tracked daily: cookies on your computer, apps on your smartphone or tablet, your IP address, internet-enabled devices, search engine terms, mobile phone geo-location, license-plate scanners, email and phone record sniffing, facial recognition systems, online dating profiles, social networking profiles, posts, likes, and shares, mass-transit smart cards, credit card usage, loyalty cards, medical records, music preferences and talk shows you listen to on smartphone apps, ATM withdrawals, wire transfers and the ever-present, always rolling surveillance cameras that tell what subway you rode, what store you shopped in, what street you crossed and at what time. Is there anything, you might ask, that others don’t know about you? Not much.

What happens to your data that is tracked? 

According to NPR, a remarkable amount of your digital trail is available to local law enforcement officers, IRS investigators, the FBI and private attorneys. And in some cases, it can be used against you.

For example, many people don’t know their medical records are available to investigators and private attorneys. According to the NPR story, “Many Americans are under the impression that their medical records are protected by privacy laws, but investigators and private attorneys enjoy special access there.”  In some cases, they don’t even need a search warrant, just a subpoena. In fact, some states consider private attorneys to be officers of the court, so lawyers can issue subpoenas for your phone texts, credit card records, even your digital medical files, despite the HIPAA law.

Kevin Bankston, senior attorney with the nonpartisan Center for Democracy and Technology, explains that the laws that regulate the government regarding privacy were written back in the analog age, so the government often doesn’t have many legal restraints. When the Fourth Amendment guaranteeing our rights to certain privacies was written, our Founding Fathers weren’t thinking about computers and smartphones!

Specifically, the Fourth Amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.”  In the “old days” police would have had to obtain a search warrant (showing probable cause) and search your home for evidence of criminal activity.

But since the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Supreme Court and other courts have consistently ruled that if you have already shared some piece of information with somebody else, a warrant is no longer needed.  So now when you buy something with a credit card (letting your credit card company know what you’ve purchased), or drive through an intersection with license plate scanners (telling law enforcement where you’ve been) or Like something on Facebook (letting the social network and everyone else know your preferences), you have, in essence, given the government (as well as corporations and criminals) the right to gather information about you, whether you are guilty of anything or not.  So much for probable cause.

In this age of cloud computing, the issue becomes even more, well, clouded.  Take the case of a protester arrested during an Occupy Wall Street Demonstration in New York City.  The New York DA subpoenaed all of his tweets over a three and a half month period.  Of course, his lawyer objected, but the judge in the case ruled that the proprietary interests of the tweets belonged to Twitter, Inc., not the defendant!

How can we defend our digital footprint against privacy violations? 

My takeaway from the NPR piece? We are so overwhelmed by the tsunami of privacy erosion going on, by the collection, use and abuse of our digital footprints, that the surveillance economy we have created will only be resolved by broad-stroke, legislative action. Until that happens, corporations, criminals and even our government will consume all of the data we allow them to. And so will we.

John Sileo is an expert on digital footprint and a highly engaging speaker on internet privacy, identity theft and technology. He is CEO of The Sileo Group, which helps organizations to protect the privacy that drives their profitability. His recent engagements include presentations at The Pentagon, Visa, Homeland Security and Northrop Grumman as well as media appearances on 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper and Fox Business. Contact him directly on 800.258.8076.

Cell Phone Tapping Solutions

Last week at an identity theft speech for the Department of Defense, I met two soldiers who alerted me to the new security risk of Cell Phone Tapping. SigInt (or signal interception) has long been a part of warfare and espionage. But the possibilities erupt with the advent of cell phone tapping. Imagine the conversation of a soldier being overheard by the enemy – deployment details, troop locations, command structure, strategic and tactical information. The prospect is terrifying for our national security.

This week, I was asked to help with a case of domestic abuse: the husband had installed Cell Phone Tapping Software (like computer spyware or keyloggers) on his wife’s phone prior to their divorce. During the divorce proceedings, he listened to every conversation, read every email and text sent from her phone, and could even control her calendar and applications (thanks to iPhone Tapping Software). Because of GPS tracking, he always knew where she was. When she switched to a new phone number and iPhone, iTunes must have synced the malicious software to the new phone along with all of the legitimate programs – allowing the abusive husband access to the new phone and continue stalking her. Cell phone tapping software allows the user to perform all of these tasks without your ever knowing it:

  • Silently record the entire text of all SMS text messages (allowing them to read all of your incoming and outgoing text messages)
  • Log information about each call (so that they know who you called, when and for how long)
  • Provide actual GPS positions (so that they know where you are anytime your phone is on)
  • Receive a text message when someone uses the cell phone so that the spy can call in and listen to everything being said (every conversation you have can be overheard and recorded)
  • Turn the cell phone into a remote listening device, even when the phone is not open or in use (allowing the spy to listen in on conversations anytime your cell phone is near)

Shortly after the identity theft speech,  I ran into this video from WTHR Indianapolis about tapping cell phones that corroborates all that I had learned – make sure you watch through to the end (you may need to double click to play the file):

If you are having trouble viewing the video, or want to see it in the original, please view their entire news story on Cell Phone Tapping.

Tapping a cell phone is quite easy with the right software (which can be purchased very inexpensively and legally). You see, the software was designed for “legitimate” purposes:

  • parents who want to track their child’s usage and text messages
  • husbands & wives who want to determine if their spouse is cheating on them.
  • businesses that need to enforce Acceptable Use in Vehicle Policies on company-provided phones or track their employees by GPS
  • law enforcement officials use the software to catch child predators
  • You can also back up your own cell activity as a record of all important text conversations and travels.

And now cell phone tapping software is being used by stalkers, hackers and identity thieves for around the clock surveillance.

Cell Phone Tapping Solutions

Until there is a better solution, your options are minimal:

  1. Password protect your cell phone so that only you have access (this isn’t as safe as it sounds, but it’s a start).
  2. Don’t allow anyone to have physical access to your cell phone if you think they have a reason to tap your communications (competitors, angry spouses, ex-partners, etc.).
  3. Consider turning off the GPS function when you don’t need it. This makes it harder for someone to track your location.
  4. Consider pulling the battery out of the phone if you are in a conversation where you do not want to be heard.
  5. Keep your eye open for software that detects spyware on your phone.
  6. If you have a cell phone issued by your company, they probably reserve the right to monitor your location and potentially to intercept your communications. Watch what you say.
  7. If you are in the military and feel like your phone is tapped, alert your S2 or InfoSec contact.
  8. Check back here frequently so that I can keep you posted on the latest developments.

John Sileo is an an award-winning author and keynote speaker on identity theft, internet privacy, fraud training & technology defense. John specializes in making security entertaining, so that it works. John is CEO of The Sileo Group, whose clients include the Pentagon, Visa, Homeland Security & Pfizer. John’s body of work includes appearances on 60 Minutes, Rachael Ray, Anderson Cooper & Fox Business. Contact him directly on 800.258.8076.