Google & Apple Steal 2B+ Wifi Access Points
Chances are, if you’ve used Google Maps or Apple Maps, you’ve contributed to one of the biggest surveillance databases in the world.
Known for their accuracy, big tech maps can locate your phone within a few meters and even indoors.
No, these big tech maps aren’t using GPS - they’re using WPS or Wi-Fi positioning system.
These WPS systems collect millions of WiFi networks and tag them with locations.
Researchers in Maryland discovered through a flaw in Apple’s WPS that they could gather at least 2B (2 Billion) WiFi location points by requesting WiFi networks at random.
That’s enough points to cover the world’s populated areas, notably China was nearly empty except for a few thousand points. Looks like even the CCP can’t opt out of this surveillance.
How on earth did they get access to this much data?
We did the work for them.
When you use Google or Apple maps, your phone will send the nearby WiFi networks along with their signal strength to the WPS. The WPS will look up these networks in a database that has hundreds of millions of networks along with their location. The calculation is then performed on the server for Google location’s service, and on the phone for Apple location’s service - which sent a list of 400 additional WiFi points back.
And this is how you get a precise location for your phone. Any new WiFi networks you scanned are potentially added to the WPS databases.
Apple & Google have made their users the instrument of their surveillance.
And the things you can do with this surveillance are harrowing. The researchers were able to see how many WiFi access points went offline in Gaza due to the constant bombardment that caused the deaths of 40,000 civilians.
Similarly the researchers were able to see the damage from the August 2023 Maui fires, and the emigration of people from Ukraine to escape forced conscription.
Apple, Google and any organization they choose to share this WiFi data will have incredible capabilities. Don’t worry though - because these companies care so much about privacy - they give you a way to opt out.
#Solutions
Add _nomap to the end of your WiFi SSID (name), Google and Apple promise not to index Wifi networks ending with those names.
Turn off your WiFi network and use ethernet cable.
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Further Reading
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/05/why-your-wi-fi-router-doubles-as-an-apple-airtag/
https://9to5mac.com/2024/05/24/apple-location-services-vulnerability/
https://www.cs.umd.edu/~dml/papers/wifi-surveillance-sp24.pdf
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