/. : Feds Have Access To Cellphone Tracking On Request

Humberto Massa hmassa at gmail.com
Mon Nov 26 11:27:59 CET 2007


2007/11/26, Jeff Andros <jeff at bigredtj.com>:
>
>
> On 11/25/07, Wolfgang S. Rupprecht
> <wolfgang.rupprecht+gnus200711 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > <snip>
> >
> > Can people ever be compelled to supply
> > truthful GPS information to LEO as long as open source cellphones are
> > legal?
> >
>
> OK, legal matters aside, your network operators ALWAYS know where your phone
> is: cell towers can triangulate the position of your phone(it's like reverse
> GPS... multiple receivers on a single source).   Most of the phone

IF and only IF the phone GSM radio is ON.
That was the what "i wholeheartedly support this open platform that
gives its users the control to turn -any- of its radios on or off at
will (of the operator...)." meant, I assume. Phone stays on (so I can
web browse via wifi, see my agenda, hear music, see videos, etc,) but
no one must know where you are.

People used the argument "if you didn't do anything wrong" in this
thread, but they tend to forget:
1. all tech is crackable;
2. bad guys can crack the tech;
3. if you can't turn off the radios, bad guys can know where you are.


> navigation, at least here in the US uses this technology... not GPS.  Which
> firmware the phone runs is a non-issue.. they don't ask you they ask for
> that data.  Technically the only way to prevent this is to not transmit.  It
> is technically possible to re-write the GSMD to power down the GSM module
> unless you are placing a call (You'd still be traceable whilst actually
> placing a call, but not traceable otherwise) the downside is, you wouldn't
> be able to receive calls.

This is a mode of operation that wouls suit me fine. I turn the radio
on, the operator sends me a "you missed a call from XYZ" or a "you
have voicemail" message (80% of the time, at least), I return the
call, I turn the radio off again.

>
> Stopping the cell towers from tracing you wouldn't help either:  It would be
> possible to set up an alternate antenna farm that decodes enough of the GSM
> signal to identify the transmitter.
>
> Pretty much at this point you should be realizing that there are only two
> possible ways to fix this: one is the legal things we're not talking about,
> because that's not my area of expertise (besides, I'm not sure how effective
> it would be), the other is to stop using any kind of transmitting device...
> technically anything that uses electricity.
>
> --
> Jeff
> O|||||||O

But you can always minorate the problems!




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