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Apple’s new iPhone and iPad security feature limits cell networks from collecting precise location data (techcrunch.com)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/apple@lemmy.zip
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[–] 3 points 9 months ago (8 children)

Apple said switching on the feature does not affect the precision of location data shared with apps, or shared with first responders during an emergency call.

So stingrays will start spoofing emergency calls?

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    I think they meant that when you call emergency services then this protection is disabled, probably temporarily.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (4 children)

    Yes, but what triggers it to be disabled? It can’t be in hardware because emergency services differ on location; if it’s a code the emergency services provider sends back, that’s something a stingray could spoof when being in adversary in the middle mode — that is, any outbound call you make is treated as an emergency call.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 9 months ago* (3 children)

    This thing is supposed to prevent you from getting tracked via cell network. If someone is on to you and is also capable of deploying Stingray in your area then they know about your location about as much as they could from the cell network.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago* (2 children)

    If there’s a stingray in your neighborhood, it’s not likely tracking you; it’s tracking everyone. If the information it gathers on you turns out to be useful in the future, that’s a feature.

    Imagine you live in an area where there are street protests. A stingray is set up to identify all the devices that are in the area during a protest.

    Then imagine you have an appointment at a government building that lines up with a called in threat. The stingray at that building ID’s your phone as having been at the protest and bingo! You’re considered guilty until you can prove your innocence.

    Of course, with this tech, there’d be no way to differentiate between protesters and homeowners, whereas right now the location is accurate enough to tell them apart.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    If there’s a Stingray in your neighbourhood and it wasn’t meant for you then law enforcement started to replace regular cell network with Stingrays, which is unlikely. A phone knows it’s dialling emergency number because it’s preprogrammed into SIM. Also, a phone making emergency number call doesn’t have a preference as to which network will be utilised so a Stingray doesn’t have a benefit of overriding your own cell network as easily.

    I might be talking out of my own butt but even US operators were in a bit of trouble because of this historically because they were able to locate just 20% of emergency calls originating on their own networks.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago*

    This is why situational awareness is critical.

    Got an appointment somewhere? Yeah, I'll take my old unused cellphone with me the one with no SIM card in it and no user account that's got my actual name in, and use it on wifi only but will at least have a camera on my person that I can use if shit gets real. Even better, leave it off until you are close to your destination, then turn it on so there's not even a fingerprint of your home IP address on it.

    Gonna hafta go back to acting like it's 1990 and I've still got the landline. Phone's at home, I can check my voicemail when I get back, just like I used to check my answering machine. Sorry Mr. Authoritarian.. was at home all day, don't know what you are on about..

    I think a lot of the assumptions on the part of these assholes is that people are incapable of pivoting to modes of public engagement that negate the effectiveness of their data mining and surveillance tech WRT people's devices.

    Old school man.. Really go undercover and just have a digital camera with a good lens and use it from a distance and keep an escape route always in mind for when it does go sideways. Keep a few spare full size SD cards on hand and use a micro SD card in an adapter so it's easier to swap out and hide if it looks like you can't slip away easy.

    Think Soviet dissident levels of subterfuge at this point..

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Emergency calls are outbound, not inbound. I hope that iPhones don't share location like they can do when placing an emergency call

    i hope

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    Yeah; that’s the problem. I hope Apple releases a technical document outlining how the system works, because otherwise it’s a “trust me, bro” situation.

    Still better than the current reality, but it’s not going to be driving me to buy a new iPhone.

    I do wonder if there are any technical reasons the system can’t support older phones.

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