By Douglas V. Gibbs
In the movies we are often shown the big brother technology the government has at its fingertips. The hero runs down the street as traffic cameras eyeball his location. The phone rings, and when the nervous character answers the cell phone a satellite powers up and takes position. A computer shuts down the grid, and the hero is cornered, captured because of the government's use of the very technology that makes our lives simpler, and less complicated. More often than not the capabilities of the government in the movies are pure fiction, yet sometimes the scope of the government's ability to keep a tab on us as described in the movies is merely the tip of the iceberg. And sometimes, the use of technology against you, and your privacy, goes way beyond the government. . . and into the hands of a criminal element you may not even realize exists. Of course, like all dubious technologies, the original intention of the technology is meant to be used for good.
Geotagging is one of those technologies that has many good applications, but also has a dark side if its capabilities are used in a dubious manner.
Defined, Geotagging is the process of attaching geographical identification data. In the case of a digital photograph a geotag will include precise latitude and longitude coordinates, possibly altitude, and other identifying information. This allows images to be easily and precisely positioned on a map through Global Positioning System (GPS), making it more easily searchable. A number of popular Web sites permit the upload of geotagged photos, and digital cameras may include geotagging capabilities, or may be fitted with accessories that automatically geotag photos. Cell phones equipped with GPS are also normally capable of geotagging.
Many advantages come with geotagging. The benefits include helping advertisers target particular demographics, individuals being able to pull up pictures by location, and of course the ability to send a digital photo to emergency personnel through an Internet connection so that they may create, distribute and retrieve critical information. The incredible Google Earth application displays geotagged maps, photos and video for understanding the severity of a disaster for survivors and rescue workers.
As with many things, along with the advantages comes a great many dangers. Geotagging is often ignored by, or unknown to, the users of devices with geotagging capabilities. Even when the user knows about the presence of geotagging, the person does not always know how to disable the capability, or realizes the full dangers of the technology. Automatic embedding of geotags in pictures taken with smartphones that are published on the Internet, without the user being aware of it, can give away their home location, or whereabouts, without them even knowing it. Craigslist, for example, with its significant number of for-sale advertisements, contains images that are geotagged, thereby revealing the location of high-valued goods along with clear hints to the absence of the offerer at certain times. Publishing photos and other media tagged with exact geolocation on the Internet allows random people to track an individual's location and correlate it with other information. Through geotagging, the criminal element can figure out when homes are empty because their inhabitants posted geotagged and timestamped information both about their home address and their vacation residence.
One of the most publicized stories about geotagging concerns Adam Savage, host of the popular science program “MythBusters.” Mr. Savage had posted a picture on Twitter of his automobile parked in front of his house. Under the picture he put the words, "Now, it's off to work." The address of his home, and the fact that he would not be there, was revealed by this simple, and innocent, posting. This gave potential thieves all of the information they needed.
Savage was aware of the presence of geotags, but neglected to disable the function due to lack of concern. He has since turned off the geotag, since his posting, and is now at a new residence.
Any computer hack with basic programming skills can take advantage of geotags, and be it Twitter, Craigslist, or YouTube, the ability to access the geotag and take advantage of the information is identical. By looking at geotags and the text of posts any person with the right skills can easily discover where people live, what kind of things they have in their house and also when they are going to be away.
The best way to protect yourself is to understand your devices, and turn off those options.
But the problem goes far beyond social networking and photo sharing Web sites, regardless of whether they offer user privacy settings. Anywhere on the web where photos are uploaded geotagged photos can create a risk.
For the military, geotags create an even greater danger, for with geotagged photos, military personnel can literally advertise to the enemy where their exact location is.
With geotags, it is apparent that privacy and security aren’t what they used to be. But in the military, geotags can pose a danger that involves serious security breaches. The U.S. Military is aware of the danger, and is currently working to educate military personnel about geotagging, and how the kind of data they are broadcasting can compromise their protection for themselves and their families.
On photo sharing sites, people can tag a location on their photos, even if their camera does not have a GPS function. A simple search for “Afghanistan” on a social website can reveal thousands of location tagged photographs that have been uploaded.
Geotagging on photos sent to the Internet can reveal an exact location of the service member's location, and then the enemy can correlate it with other information. Personnel deploy to areas all over the world. Some locations are public, others are classified. Publishing photos of classified locations can be detrimental to mission success, and such actions are in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
As location-based social networking grows in popularity, the use of these networks by military personnel creates various concerns on a military level that creates potentially dangerous conditions. Use of these networks with geotagged photographs enables strangers to track the movements of personnel, and if they watch someone long enough they will know exactly when and where to find that person on any given day.
Geotagging has the potential to expose places of duty and home. If certain applications are used daily around military populations, an enemy can determine potential targets. A service member, by exposing his or her location, can affect the entire mission, and can literally bring the enemy right to the military member's doorstep, or enable the enemy to know exactly which window to put a mortar through.
Users can delete geotagged photos, but once the information is out there, it’s out of the user’s hands. Even if posted briefly, the enemy can capture vital information and record exact grid coordinates of troop populations. Something as simple as loading a photo of your bunk in Afghanistan to a social network can bring the enemy right into your area of operation.
As with civilians, the safest decision is to turn off the GPS function on phones, and the service member must avoid displaying too much information by disabling the geotagging function on smartphones.
Military personnel must remember that exposing specific geographical location can be devastating to military operations. Service members should never tag photos with geographical location when loading to photo sharing sites. Personnel should not use location-based social networking applications when deployed, at training or while on duty at locations where presenting exact grid coordinates could damage military operations. Not following these precautions can result in damage to the mission and even put families at risk.
Once we have a handle on the dangers associated with geotagging, one must also consider that when confronted with the potential evolution of geotagging, and the applications available to government personnel for use against citizens, we have given big brother a whole new set of toys to watch us with.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Using Social Media Applications in an Emergency - Suite 101
Web Photos That Reveal Secrets, Like Where You Live - New York Times
I Am Here: One Man's Experiment With the Location-Aware Lifestyle - Wired Magazine
Geotagging - Wikipedia
Safe Geotagging with Twitter; How to Do It and What Are the Dangers - Device Magazine
Privacy: Geotagging Highlights Safety, Risks Of Mobile Technology - First Amdendment Coalition
Geotagging: Advantages and Dangers - Associated Content
Geo-tags can show enemies your location - Army Times
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