Researchers from the University of Maryland published an article in which they conducted a study of the security problems of Apple and Starlink.
Experts Eric Ray and Dave Levine are private citizens who say the data companies collect and publicly share could be used to identify billions of devices around the world.
How geolocation data transfer works:
1. Access point identifiers BSSID, MAC addresses. This allows devices to provide location information to users without relying on GPS.
2. Apple receives location data for up to 400 BSSIDs nearby.
The researchers queried information on more than a billion randomly generated BSSIDs and obtained data on 488 million access points. Through them, they tracked the movements of Starlink satellites, each of which has its own access points. And thanks to this, they could track the results of any other person.
Technology already provides security
Starlink sent out a software update that randomized the BSSID of devices, making them difficult to track.
Apple has made a strict privacy policy. As of March 2024, users can add the network name suffix “_nomap” to exclude their access points from the system.
The researchers noted the need to provide additional security and privacy measures in modern geolocation. This will protect users from dangerous threats.
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Source: Iphones RU
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