Third Wave Fashion // OCTOBER 2013 // THE PRIVACY ISSUE | Page 30
Are you scared yet? Maybe you should be.
ere are security measures in place. Various levels of encryption
on mobile devices, stronger security features with every update of
an operating system, and more…. but you can’t do much once
somebody is already inside.
“
...but one night I came
home and there he was,
sitting in my kitchen.
”
Researchers at Georgia Tech claim that they have developed a new
way of hacking iPhones and iPads using a charger. at’s right, a
basic, everyday phone charger. Luckily for Apple fans, iOS7 is still
secure, thanks to the lengths that Apple has gone to in prevention of
the possibilities mentioned above -- but by approaching the hack
from a seemingly “dumb” piece of equipment, the charger hack may
have been the proverbial crack in Apple’s massive privacy wall.
e key to the security implications of apps and devices alike are all
found in those lengthy user agreements that most people gloss over
in search of the “I Agree” box. e mistake we make in doing this is
that much of the responsibility is passed to the user. You’re
accountable, not the company. Many issues can then be chalked up
to operator error: maybe you unknowingly allowed outside soware
to access the information within a given app.
Luckily, you’re an informed consumer, one that reads the
agreements, understands the inherent risks that accompany too
much tech, and are actively preventing yourself from becoming
another statistic in the information stealing game. What you don’t
realize though, it’s not stealing if you offer it, and that’s the beauty
for the advertisers. e stalkers of your personal technologies are
only using what you give them, which is much more than what you
thought it was.
What happens now?
Many people are experiencing this terrifying new level of stalking, but they don’t even
realize it. An innocent email on your birthday, a cool new place to vacation, it’s all fun until
you realize that the person you fear the most, your stalker, isn’t a person at all. Instead,
you’ve allowed smart technology to track every move you make. Unlike the creepy stalker
guy you may have met at the grocery store, you’ve invited tracking soware and information
sharing into your house with open arms, in awe at the shiny features of smart technology,
but le in the dark about the privacy that you’ve chosen to forego.
We’ve seen how easy it is for tech to be hacked: in 2010 Luis Mijangos was arrested at his
home, where FBI agents seized his massive archive of 15,000 webcam videos, 900 audio
recordings and 13,000 screenshots, all stolen from the hacked computers of his 230 victims.
With the ability to access webcams and hard drives without the user noticing, (yes, he could
turn off that little green light), he built a shady business around the ability to watch people,
study their lives, and blackmail them.
ough advertisers probably aren’t planning on blackmailing you, questions do need to be
raised about the information available to the companies you trust. e Mijangos case may
seem extreme, but with innovations in mobile & wearable tech, and an incessant feeling that
the world must know where you are and what you’re doing all the time, is that where we’re
all headed?
Mijangos accessed thousands of files through simple emails – you clicked the link, he got
the access – but you give the same level of information every day with the apps you
download and use on your phone. According to the New York Daily News, the average
person has 41 apps on their smartphone. at’s at least 41 times that you’ve given access to
the information in your phone to a third party, not to mention the information that you
constantly update to use on Apple or Android app stores. at’s email, name, seemingly
harmless stuff for the average person.
On the next level though, and still all in your phone, you’ve been geo-tagging pictures,
looking up directions and checking your bank account as if there wasn’t anything to worry
about. In essence, what you thought was only a name and an email address, is now your
face, your friends’ faces, where you’ve been and where you’re going, and how much money
you have.
At this point the best defense is a good offense, anticipating security
problems and solving them as quickly as they happen, like Apple
did with the iPhone 5s fingerprint scanner that was hacked days
aer its debut. You as a customer can also be more aware of the
information you share through your devices, especially if it’s
information that you don’t want public.
However, tracking abilities continue to grow with the ongoing
development of more reliable gps systems and built in sensors. e
same technology that allows you to check in for a 15 percent
discount code at your favorite retailer provides marketing experts
with a front row view of your shopping habits.
Two examples of this emerging use of the technology are the
iBeacon, a system that will likely improve indoor navigation, as well
as Disney’s newest experiment, a wrist band technology that allows
park passes, hotel keys and room charges to be managed on a watch
band. Based on the implications of tracking you indoors now as
well, advertisers and brand managers can now see exactly how you
are interacting with their stores, or in Disney’s case, their parks.
ere is nothing to say that you are being tracked, or that your
personal information is being stolen and monitored. But one thing
to take away as the holiday season approaches is the ability for third
parties to kno