Tracking Devices

Full Title or Meme

There are lots of active devices that have Identifiers and can be associated with users.

Context

• To be clear, the only purpose of an Identifier is to track some set of Attributes or Permissions. But for Privacy reasons tracking of users in to be avoided whenever possible.
• An unexpectedly large number of devices are offered to help the user with their daily tasks that are network connected all of the time, or have radios that can connect when in the proximity of a server with that receiver that has a compatible radio. For example:

1. IoT - the Internet of things are thermostats or light switches that are meant to be installed and then forgotten, but expected to work forever just as they did on the day they were installed.
2. Apple smart tags
3. Tiles
6. Smartphones that come set up to allow tracking.

It is possible to track Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices in an enclosed space. BLE indoor positioning solutions use either BLE-enabled sensors or beacons to detect and locate transmitting Bluetooth devices, such as smartphones or tracking tags throughout indoor spaces.

However, the number of active Bluetooth devices that can be reliably detected in a single space is difficult to determine as it is related to not only Bluetooth devices but also WiFi.

Problems

Identifiable Device

Any network connected device that can be identified can be used to track a person.

A team led by researchers at Northeastern University and Spain's IMDEA Networks uncovered security and privacy issues within Internet of Things (IoT) devices in smart homes. Northeastern's David Choffnes said these appliances can "allow nearly any company to learn what devices are in your home, to know when you are home, and learn where your home is." The researchers investigated local network interactions between 93 IoT devices and mobile applications, highlighting the unintentional disclosure of personally identifiable information by devices within local networks using standard protocols like Universal Plug and Play or multicast Domain Name System. Vijay Prakash at New York University's Tandon School of Engineering said a smart home can be identified from a media access control address, a universally unique identifier, and a unique device name.