They’re Not Even Working For It

Thinking of going to a protest anytime soon? Might wanna consider exactly how much information you’re volunteering on yourself via your phones and social media data.

In a random act of journalism by the NY Times, they studied the data obtained not by a government agency, but private companies tracking the activities of people via the geolocation data on their phones. From data gathered at the 2016 election, attendees in Washington DC were tracked just the same as the eventual protestors, citing:

Protesters were tracked just as rigorously. After the pings of Trump supporters, basking in victory, vanished from the National Mall on Friday evening, they were replaced hours later by those of participants in the Women’s March, as a crowd of nearly half a million descended on the capital. Examining just a photo from the event, you might be hard-pressed to tie a face to a name. But in our data, pings at the protest connected to clear trails through the data, documenting the lives of protesters in the months before and after the protest, including where they lived and worked.

Pretty interesting. Considering this data is gathered based on embedded geolocation data in several common apps people use, including various social media messengers, you’re volunteering this information willingly. Thus there’s no expectation of privacy.

In Afghanistan one of the ways we targeted High Value Targets was through the use of cellphone location data. That was nearly a decade ago, and the technology that went over my knuckle-dragger head at the time is now available open-source and easy to use. It should be both impressive and terrifying what is capable today with those same tools.

So while the same tinfoil outlets continue to pedal nonsense like “the Governor of Virginia is threatening to shut off cell service!!”, I ask you calmly, why would they shut off their greatest goldmine of data? You’ll tell them everything they want to know. Along with giving up all of your contacts and likely members of your individual groups.

Want to learn how to not do that while giving yourself a fighting chance? We have a Privacy, Security and Anonymity class for that coming up in March, taught by a guy who did this stuff in places where it mattered. If you’re considering getting active in the coming fight for liberty, you might want it.

 

 

 

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13 Comments

  1. Matt in Oklahoma December 20, 2019 at 06:40

    John Hancock didn’t leave his signature hidden. Abraham Tower stayed hidden only until the act was done at Boston but was well known to all in the community.

    So I attended a 2A rally, so I went to a gun show, so I read American Partisan and I voted for the right, don’t lie bout my race, skin color, sexuality, religion or gender and raise a family. I fly a flag, wear one too for 35yrs now and I serve The People. I work for the “them” the “theys” and you know where to find me because none of that is illegal.

    I’ll drive my onstar, use my credit card, carry my cell phone and trim my mustache for the picture.

    I work cases where you try and figure out the threats to people but very often I find the threat is from the person wanting protection who is causing it. Once that person or those actions are removed peace and harmony is restored. It often makes me unpopular at my job with leadership but it doesn’t make me wrong.

    Insofar as information now more than ever you must differentiate between intelligence and wording designed to strike up emotions. Facebook ain’t your friend, folks you don’t know aren’t to be trusted without verification and Virginians, Kalifornians and Koloradans and others got theirselves into it so get yourself outta it. Don’t expect rescue or support until you act first.

  2. riverrider December 20, 2019 at 08:39

    we got this. i just hope the nutjobs from other states stay out of it and don’t screw this up for us. we have the backing of the people and local politicians which is 90 percent of the battle. gun/ammo sales continue to climb, so folks are ready to fight this time.

  3. Cavguy December 20, 2019 at 08:55

    “Avoid large crowds”, Uncle Remus

    Try that for starters.

    Matt brought up a great idea/point regarding 20 January 2020 Richmond VA. Don’t go!! That’s right don’t go to Richmond, have your protest on friendly ground you control, where you can control the media.

    Burn phones? Ever heard of those? Pay cash now activate later when needed. Get someone from work to buy them for you, your face will not be associated with them, (CCCs).

    Use their system to foil them. Make their job easier, or so they think.

    Cavguy

    (mr fbi, dhs, and fusion center hero these comments are for entertainment only and do not reflect any reality).

  4. Steve Shapiro December 20, 2019 at 09:56

    So, assuming one has procured a burn phone, how does one, er, hide it? Turning it off, by my understanding, does not do the trick. Wrapping in aluminum foil likewise still allows signals to get through as does a Faraday cage. I’ve even tried wrapping my cell phone in the lead sheeting from a roof vent I got from a roofing job down the street. I then asked a friend to call me. In every case the call went through. So I want a phone that is invisible except when I specifically want to use it. Any suggestions?

    • johnyMac December 20, 2019 at 10:18

      All my best dressed intel guys use one of these

      Great question. I am sure others were thinking the same thing.

  5. Kilo December 20, 2019 at 13:22

    Steve…
    It is more complicated than what you describe above.
    We actually go through the testing process live in the PSA course and demonstrate what works and what does not.
    It is a somewhat long discussion and demonstration (which those who have been to the class and have seen it done can attest to) and a few sentences here would not do the subject matter justice.

    On a second note, and probably more important, is the process to acquire the burner phone anonymously. That is more critical IMO that shielding the phone.

    Anyway, three of the advertised (there are several key elements of the course that are not advertised) portions of the course that pertain to your question are:

    • Utilize countermeasures to mitigate the exploitation of your personal metadata
    • Mitigate cell phone surveillance and online tracking
    • Secure both data at rest and data in motion from exploitation

    These are intentionally vague, so you will have to read between the lines a bit.

    The rest of the course advertisement can be seen here:
    https://brushbeater.wordpress.com/2019/06/20/privacy-security-anonymity-course-24-25-august/

    johnyMac….
    Spoiler alert…in the course we demonstrate the product you linked to in your reply and show how and why it does NOT work. I guess that explains why you don’t think I dress well :) You may want to inform the better dressed ones.

    • johnyMac December 20, 2019 at 19:13

      Kilo, LOL…You rock Brother! You have always dressed well in my book ;-)

      God Bless Brother!

  6. NC Scout December 20, 2019 at 14:03

    5

  7. vyt1az December 20, 2019 at 17:50

    @Matt in Oklahoma. The Tories might have had a few spies in the local community, and maybe a few more who’s faces gave away that they didn’t belong.

    What they didn’t have was an almost real-time record of every book the colonists read, every conversation they had, and every person they were with at the local pub or town green while organizing. They didn’t have1000’s of digital spies unseen to scan every face, license plate, and every cell phone tower as people traveled.

    Had they had those powers, they likely would have squashed the work preceding the revolution.

    You’re right, nothing you mentioned is illegal now, but I’m guessing you’ve seen the law change? What if “they” can look back at all that past digital activity and see you as an enemy in the future.

    Keeping a lower digital footprint could tilt things in your favor in the future until it’s time to act decisively.

    @Steve Shapiro good on you for testing your setup. Sounds like your test material had gaps or holes. A phone wrapped in properly folded aluminum foil has worked in my testing. There are less conspicuous things like steel toolboxes, but foil can be made to work.

    I’m guessing those cheap “faraday” bags on Amazon leak RF…

  8. Anonymous December 20, 2019 at 20:17

    4.5

  9. Matt in Oklahoma December 21, 2019 at 08:19

    vyt1az
    They already do.

  10. […] under arms, that without protections against the machine, armed networks of potential guerrillas may very well be unknowingly compromised before such a thing can even get off the ground. The tools that are available, even open source, […]

  11. tropicthunder81 December 27, 2019 at 10:22

    Agreed. People carrying cell phones in their names with location services turned in and not in a silent pocket unless needed are fools.

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