Smartphone tracking: It took minutes to find phone believed to belong to agent traveling with Trump*

[fleur-de-lisa]

Charlie Warzel ✔ @cwarzel Dec 20, 2019

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/20/opinion/location-data-national-security.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

New: Today's piece from @stuartathompson and me is about the national security risks in smartphone tracking. No one is exempt. Not even @realDonaldTrump*. It took minutes to find a phone that we believe belonged to a Secret Service agent traveling w/ Trump*.

And it's not just the president*. It was alarming how easy it was to find senior officials and security staff as they moved around the White House, Capitol Hill, the Supreme Court and other govt facilities. In many cases, the data trails led back to the smartphone users’ homes.

When we reached out to some lawmakers to show what we found, the outrage was bipartisan.

“This is terrifying,” said @HawleyMO "Not just because of the major national security implications...But it also raises personal privacy concerns...These companies are tracking our kids.”

Here's what @ewarren told us when we shared with her some of what we'd found: "This report is another alarming case for why we need to break up big tech, adopt serious privacy regulations and hold top executives of these companies personally responsible.”

Perhaps the most alarming bit in reporting this piece was how resigned even our national security professionals are to this stuff.

Link to tweet

* - Donald J Trump was impeached by the US House of Representatives on December 18, 2019

[marble falls]

1. Just one reason I don't have a cell/smart phone ...

I don't need a GPS tracker in my pocket.

[fleur-de-lisa]

3. I am required to have one by my employer and they pay me a monthly allowance to cover the cost.

Hackers would be bored to tears to follow my daily activities.

[marble falls]

4. My routine is only interesting to me, too.

[NightWatcher]

2. That's what we used to do, track the least secure in the group.

Assume that Russia and all of our enemies (and most of our friends) have heard every convo and intercepted everything thing he says and does on his phone.

His constant tweeting is also being used as markers for anyone tracking him.

[Baked Potato]

5. The only secrets not known about Trump are

in people’s heads, and databases. That’s the only thing he protects.

[harumph]

6. It's hard to believe that these people are this stupid. Former IT person here.

They don't really give a shit about telcom security or they would take known anti-surveillance measures.
It - is - not - rocket - science - stupid - fuckers - everyone.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. It's hard to believe the U.S. does not protect its citizens.

We, not corporations, should own our data.

Cell carriers, facebook, google, et. al., should be constrained from spying.