Sensor Characteristics Uniquely Identify Individual Phones 69
An anonymous reader writes "SFGate reports that Stanford researchers have figured out a way to generate a unique fingerprint from a cell phone's suite of built-in sensors. The tiny accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, and speakers in cell phones have characteristics that vary slightly from handset to handset, and these variations may contain enough information to uniquely identify a given handset. How that information might get from the phone to a third party varies (the article describes a JavaScript snippet reading the Z-axis accelerometer, though it says little about how the user might block such information from being read), but the possibility for abuse is certainly troubling."
Uh, so what? (Score:4, Insightful)
The possibility for abuse is troubling. Really?
Android: android.telephony.TelephonyManager.getDeviceId()
iOS: NSString* uniqueID = [UIDevice currentDevice].uniqueIdentifier;
WindPhone: Dunno don't do anything for it, I assume it's part of the API as well.
So yes, tell me more about this "troubling" ability to build a fingerprint of questionable accuracy on a device to uniquely ID it even when you can just READ THE UNIQUE DEVICE ID right from it to start with.
How long ... (Score:5, Insightful)
How long before we have Minority Report type crimes?
"Sir, you're going to have to have to come with us. Our metadata surveillance indicates you are likely to commit a crime, and our tracking of your phone indicates you were recently at a hardware store. We need to take you to the internment camp."
Some days I just want to turn into Reg the Blank and hide.
When they can know everything about you even when you've done nothing wrong, you're not so much free anymore as you are being allowed to pretend you are until such time as they decide to cart you off.
Re:What is it with Scientists and Identifying Thin (Score:4, Insightful)
Because there are lots of people who want PhD:s, but not a lot of creativity to go around and even less funding to go around for creative and truly novel projects
You can bet that this has already been done in the industry so it's not like they're inventing anything that doesn't already exist.
By the way, it ought to be reasonably straightforward to get a fingerprint out of the totality of sensor data that a phone generates during the course of a week or so even if the sensors were flawless. After all, we all have different habits, different gaits, etc. Odds are someone is already doing that.
Re:How long ... (Score:2, Insightful)
Because we're not all judgmental pricks that think our way is the only way to live. When my 81 year old mother needs a ride to the store, I want her to call me. When my daughter misses the bus home and I'm at a client site, I want her to call me. Just because you're happy to be incommunicado, doesn't make that an option for people with responsibilities. Go pat yourself on the back for being a Ludite and crawl back in your hole.