The fact that cellular technology can accurately pinpoint within a few feet of your exact location (LESS THAN 10 feet -- to me -- is scary), and the fact that NSA satellites can zoom (er...hone) in any given signal (again) within a few feet (e.g.; having your nosehairs clearly photographed by a satellite?) leaves me very dissettled.

ALL cellular technology today has capabilities of pinpointing an individual within a single keystroke. I once had (years ago) an issue with my mobile telephone and called the problem into technical support to see if they could help me. The phone had issues of disappearing on their network. The technician came online and stated "You are currently located in blah-blah-blah town, right?" My eyes went wide. Obviously, the technician was trying to help me out by confirming that I was at a general locality to help him ascertain what was wrong with the phone, one whether or not it was the telephone or the system itself. Turned out, there was a bad cellular tower in my areas, and their technicians did not catch the fault. Nonetheless, ever since then, I don't trust anything about any RF-based mobile technology, whether it is your cellular telephone, your PDA, or even your pager.

Did you know that even a one-way, numeric-only pager can be tracked? Don't ask me how, but someone who did electronic surveillance (leave it at that as I don't know who he worked for -- the word "spooky" comes to mind) stated that even sometime as simple as a one-way pager (such as the Motorola Flex(tm) pagers) have triangulation capabilities.

For those who have read this comment, and would like to know HOW you can prevent triangulation, continue reading (below).

If I don't want to be disturbed, pager and cellular telephone turned OFF, and the battery comes out of every device (just in case there's a CMOS or hidden, internal battery within the device). There would no way for any satellite or RF sniffing device to find me on the airwaves. Also, I carry in my glove compartment of my vehicle, a small bag of aluminum foil inside a plastic bag -- just in case any device were to chirp, would be stuffed inside the foil-lined baggy. This would throw everyone off. ;)
I normally use this bag for my electronic automatic tolling device, which is now being used to track my speed on the tollway locally where I live. The device is an "always on" device, so it stays within the plastic bag, with a dual-wrapped foil lined on the inside of the plastic bag, with the device wrapped within the foil. Sometimes, I use it to also store the other RF-capable electronic devices.

If you were to go offline, do so BEFORE you reach your destination, usually miles in advance. Just an FYI... ;))

This message will self-destruct in 5 seconds...

-r

[ reply ]

Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/376/32902#32902