Your Cell Phone as a Beacon

Last night was a pretty typical weeknight at my				Barker, an equipment sales manager for Cell-Loc,
home, I drove home from workand filled up with				based in
gas before I got home, I left my house again at				Calgary, Alberta. His company provides tracking
around 5:30to take my son to his Karate lesson.				services to help people who areincapacitated and
While I was out I stopped by the locallibrary to				unable to dial for help.and out of cell tower range.
return some books and then swung over to the				According to Slate, Location data extrapolated
dry cleaners to pick upmy shirts and slacks and				from tower records is frequentlyused in criminal
some stuff for my wife. I picked up my son				cases. It was vital, for example, to the
from hislesson and we stopped off at the				prosecution of David
grocery store to pick up some bread and milk				Westerfield, who was convicted of murdering
onour way back to the house.				7-year-old Danielle van Dam in San
Now, you aren't the first people to know my				Diego. The killer's cell-phone usage revealed a
whereabouts that night. Because Ihad my cellular				bizarre travel pattern in thetwo days following the
phone with me, the cell phone company that				girl's disappearance, including a suspicious trip to
provides my cellularservices knew where I was at				thedesert. In cases like this, wireless providers will
the entire time. They tracked me with my				not release a user's recordswithout a court order,
cellulartelephone.				save for rare instances in which a kidnapping has
How is this possible?				takenplace and time is of the essence.
It is possible because people who use their cell				Domestic crime is not the only arena of law
phone need to be able to make acall whenever				enforcement that is utilizing thetracking of mobile
and wherever they may be located at the time				phone signals, the FBI and CIA have been using
they dial the numberon their phone. Therefore,				this techniquein an effort to capture public enemy
the cellular companies must be able to route the				number one: Osama Bin Laden.
callto the nearest cellular tower, which in turn				Author Dan Campbell, writing in the October 2001
sends your call to the satellite inspace, which				issue of Telepolis Magazine,describes how the
sends your signal to the person you are calling.				world's most wanted man, coordinated his attacks
The tower thathandled the call is typically logged				via hismobile phone.
(and stored indefinitely) on the wirelessprovider's				"Between 1996 and 1998, when the America's
computers, though it's not noted on the				embassy in Kenya was bombed, the FBIfound
customer's monthly bill. Inorder for the cell phone				that Osama bin Laden and his staff had spent
company to know what tower you are at, they				nearly 40 hours makingsatellite phone calls from
must beable to track the signal from your cell				the mountains of Afghanistan. The calls, which can
phone when it is on.				besent and received from a special phone the size
In the expanded age of advanced communication				of a laptop computer, wererelayed via a
and the literally thousands ofissues of privacy that				commercial satellite to sympathizers in the west.
it has since spawned, many people would be				The satellite phone appears to have been a huge
horrified tolearn that they can be tracked by the				convenience for the world's mostwanted terrorist.
phone company via their mobile phone. Thephone				He was billed for thousands of minutes of use
companies claim this is a integral part of the				over two years,those records indicate, and used
service they provide,privacy advocates say that				it to issue a fatwa in February 1998 thatcalled on
this is just another way large corporations				Muslims to kill Americans, including civilians,
haveinvaded our lives.				anywhere in the world.
Wading into the fray over this controversy				Even now, as US forces move in for the kill, bin
concerning your cell phone is anotherlarger and				Laden's satellite phone has notbeen cut off. But
important player: law enforcement. Law				calls to the terrorist leader are going unanswered.
enforcement agencies are nowutilizing the				Hisinternational phone number - 00873 682505331
technology of tracking cellular signals to catch				- was disclosed during a trial,held in New York
criminals andterrorists. A few cases of dangerous				earlier this year. Calls to his once-active satellite
criminals being tracked and caught while ontheir				link nowhear only a recorded messages saying he
telephones have been documented and law				is "not logged on". "
enforcement is now fighting withthe cellular				Indeed, when bin Laden associates went to trial in
companies to ensure its continued use.				April on charges of bombing
Have we lost our privacy by cell phone tracking				U.S. embassies in Africa, the prosecution used
or have we just gained avaluable tool for law				billing records for calls fromthat phone to connect
enforcement to use in keeping us safe? Do the				them to bin Laden--but not intercepts of
cell phonecompanies need to know where you are				conversations.
in order to provide their service, or havethey				Apparently, the FBI are not the only individuals
found, as some privacy advocates claim, a				aware of the fact that thetracing of mobile phone
backdoor into your life, yourlocations, your				signals can be used to track down an
shopping habits?				individual'slocation. With American forces closing in
Part One: Mobile 911.				on him during the battle of Tora Borain late 2001,
According to the TechTV Show "Talkback", Cell				Osama bin Laden employed a simple trick against
phones show where you are, andthat is simply				sophisticated
part of their design. Without the ability to pinpoint				United State spy technology to vanish into the
where thesignal from your phone is coming from,				mountains that led to Pakistanand sanctuary.
calls could never be connected. Becausecell phones				According to CBS News, A Moroccan who was
decry the use of wires, and the users making the				one of bin Laden's long-timebodyguards took
calls are often onthe move, the call and the				possession of the al-Qaeda leader's satellite phone
receiving signal are not at a fixed location.				on theassumption that US intelligence agencies
Therefore, the signal from the cell phone must be				were monitoring it to get a fix ontheir position,
tracked.				said senior Moroccan officials, who have
Cell phone service areas are divided into "cells,"				interviewed thebodyguard, Abdallah Tabarak.
each of which is serviced bya base station. When				Tabarak moved away from bin Laden and his
you make a call, your cell phone selects the				entourage as they fled, using thephone to divert
strongest basestation it can find, which is usually				the Americans and allow bin Laden to escape.
the closest station to you.				Tabarak was latercaptured at Tora Bora in
If you move out of the coverage of one base				possession of the phone.
station, your phone switches to thenext strongest				The use of Cell phone triangulation and the
available base station (which usually means you				tracking of other mobile signalsappear to be an
move into a newcell). The system always knows				effective weapon for law enforcement, one that
your location relative to the nearest cell.				many agencies aregoing to be reluctant to give
This occurs even when your phone is on but not				up. But does the use of technology come at
being used. For efficiency'ssake, an idle cell phone				aprice: the sacrifice of privacy and civil rights of
sends out a message on the access channel so				the people using mobiletechnology.
that thesystem will know where to direct the				Part Three: Cell Phone Commercials
page if you get an incoming call. Thesystem				The ability to track a person using their cell phone
knows where you are. In an urban area, each				has not been lost onmarketing professionals
tower covers an area ofapproximately 1 to 2				looking to find a new avenue into consumer
square miles, so a caller's general location is fairly				buying habitsand preferences. The ability to track
easyto pinpoint.				individuals' movements through theirmobile signal
The proliferation of cellular phones and their usage				has very appealing commercial potentials. For
gave birth to a very uniqueproblem: How would				example:
emergency operators track callers who called 911				∑ Your phone will be able to tell you where
on theirmobile phone? Dialing 911 from a traditional,				the nearest hospital, shopping mall,or McDonald's is
wire-based telephone, allowed theoperator to				located
track where the call was being placed, so that an				∑ Merchants could automatically send you
emergency responsecould be sent. On mobile				location-based advertising and specialoffers when
phones, the people calling in the emergency had				their technology senses you're near their stores
no ideawhere they were, and the 911 operators				∑ If you've pre-loaded their phone numbers
had no way of exactly pin pointing wherethe calls				and personal information, your phonecould alert
where originating.				you when a friend or family member is in the
Enter e911. According to the web site				area
"Webopedia" , E911 is "short for Enhanced				"Advertisers are eager to use location services to
911, a location technology advanced by the FCC				alert you when you pass neara store that might
that enables cellular phones toprocess 911				be of interest. Such services are likely in some
emergency calls and enable emergency services				form, butcarriers are proceeding cautiously.
to locate thegeographic position of the caller.				They're aware you may not want to see adsfor
When a person makes a 911 call using atraditional				McDonalds every time you pass by the golden
phone with ground wires, the call is routed to the				arches. Carriers don't want toannoy users
nearest publicsafety answering point (PSAP) that				because it's so easy to switch providers", says
then distributes the emergency call to theproper				Allen Nogee, asenior analyst at Cahners In-Stat
services. The PSAP receives the caller's phone				Group said on the CNN web site.
number and the exactlocation of the phone from				The idea of advertisers and law enforcement
which the call was made. Prior to 1996, 911				knowing where you are at any givenmoment and
callersusing a mobile phone would have to access				where you have been has naturally rubbed
their service providers in order toget verification				privacy-advocate groups thewrong way. While
of subscription service before the call was routed				there is some upsides for the use of this
to a PSAP.				technology, privacygroups say the potential for
In 1996 the FCC ruled that a 911 call must go				abuse of this technology is very high and very
directly to the PSAP withoutreceiving verification				realand they would like to see some provisions
of service from a specific cellular service provider.				built into cell-phone tracking lawsthat allow for the
Thecall must be handled by any available service				privacy of the consumer not to be compromised.
carrier even if it is not thecellular phone				"There certainly need to be better emergency
customer's specific carrier. Under the FCC's rules,				procedures [for cell-phone calls],"says David Sobel,
all mobilephones manufactured for sale in the				general counsel for the Electronic Privacy
United States after February 13, 2000, thatare				Information Centerin Washington, D.C during an
capable of operating in an analog mode must				interview with ABC news. "But once the
include this special method forprocessing 911 calls.				technologyexists, there has to be some way for
"				users to control how the info can be used."
In an article entitled "How cell phones reveal your				Sobel says while the FCC mandated the E911
location" published on the				program, federal legislators haven'tput into place
Slate ( web site, with e911, emergency operators				how that information may be used or who would
were ableto track calls from wireless phones in				have access to it.
less to one or one half of a mile fromwhere the				"The Justice Department and FBI do routinely get
call originated. The technology was so successfully				information from cell-phoneservice providers,"
that thegovernment made it a law that all cellular				says Sobel. But, "There are lingering question on
phones carry the technology thatenables calls to				what thelegal standard is to be used to get
be tracked. This law is called the Wireless				location information from cell-phoneproviders.
Communications and				There is nothing in federal law that addresses that
Public Safety Act of 1999 (911 Act) and signed				issue."
into law by President Clinton on				According to Sobel, another large privacy issue
October 26, 1999. According to the law, 95				that might be at stake is notonly the information
percent of all cell phones must be				that is being delivered by using this technology,
E911 compliant by the end of 2005.				but thetechnology itself might be violating the
In compliance with the new law, and to better				privacy of mobile communications justby the way
improve the service with itscustomers, many cell				the technology works.
phone handsets are now equipped with Global				"The e911 rules enacted by the Federal
Positioning				Communications Commission govern theemerging
System chips, which determine a caller's				form of telecommunications known as "packet
coordinates by receiving signals beameddown				mode" communication. Lawenforcement agencies
from a satellite array. The chip factors together				already have the authority to demand information
the signals' differentarrival times to calculate the				thatidentifies a phone call as long as it is separate
phone's coordinates, using a mathematical				from the call's contents.
processknown as trilateration. At present,				However, with packet-mode communication
however, GPS data is typically not recordedfor				technology, data containing the numberscannot be
non-emergency purposes, unless the user has				separated from data containing phone
explicitly signed up for alocation-based service.				conversations. Thus when policeagencies demand
Part Two: The Hacker and the Terrorist				phone number data, phone service providers will
Kevin Mitnick was a hacker. That is to say, he				have to givethem data containing conversations
was king of all the hackers.				as well," said Sobel.
Mitnick, "America's Most Wanted Computer				Sobel and lawyers from two other organizations
Outlaw," eluded the police, US				are asking the U.S. Court of
Marshalls, and FBI for over two years after				Appeals in Washington, D.C., to block the FCC
vanishing while on probation for his				rules. "The FBI is seekingsurveillance capabilities
1989 conviction for computer and access device				that far exceed the powers law enforcement has
fraud. His downfall was his				had inthe past and is entitled to under the law,"
Christmas 1994 break-in to Tsutomu Shimomura's				Sobel said.
computers in San Diego,				Similar legislation for the ability to track
California. Shimomura just happened to be the				movements using mobile technologyhas met with
head of computing technology atthe San Diego				stiff resistance in other countries. According to
Super Computer Center. Less than two months				ZDNET UK
after having hiscomputers hacked, Shimomura				( in the United Kingdom, civil liberties advocates
had tracked Mitnick down after a				areoutraged at the implications of the newly
cross-countryelectronic pursuit. Mitnick was				passed Regulation of Investigatory
arrested by the FBI in Raleigh, North Carolina,on				Powers Act, which could allow British law
February 15th, 1995.				enforcement agencies to trace themovements of
Mitnick was charged in North Carolina with 23				mobile phone users with a minimum of
counts of access device fraud forhis activities				accountability. Privacyadvocates have vowed to
shortly before his arrest. In California, he was				have this law over-turned in this country, but in
charged with anadditional 25 counts of access				themeantime, the British government plans to fully
device, wire, and computer fraud. On March 16,				extend and incorporate this lawinto British law
1999, Mitnick plead guilty to five of these counts				enforcement, no matter what privacy groups say.
and two additional countsfrom the Northern				"The whole point of RIP (the Regulation of
District of California. He was sentenced to 46				Investigatory Powers Act) is toupdate
months andthree years probation. He was				surveillance," a spokeswoman from the British
released from prison on January 21, 2000,				Home Office said. "If youhaven't broken the law
beingeligible for early release after serving almost				then you've nothing to fear."
60 months of his 68 monthsentence.				Conclusion: Cell Phone Spam?
How was the FBI able to capture "America's Most				Law enforcement agencies, already beleaguered
Wanted Computer Outlaw"? Bytracking down a				by an out of control handgunproblem and a
signal from his cell phone.				across the board rise in crime in the United
Luke Helder was going to set off some bombs.				States, coupled withthe fact that they must now
Specifically, he was going to setoff bombs in				deal with the horrifying specter of terrorism
mailboxes across the United States until the				intheir cities, will not be too quick to give up a
locations of his bombsmade a "smiley face"				powerful new weapon in catchingcriminals,
pattern across the map of the U.S. He probably				especially not one that will essentially tell them
would haveaccomplished his morbid feat had he				where they areexactly. Any fight that privacy
not made one crucial mistake; he turned onhis cell				groups may put up will ultimately prove to befutile
phone.				to lawmakers in Congress, who want to be seen
According to USA Today, as soon as he				as giving law enforcementevery chance they can
activated it, FBI agents quicklytriangulated his				to be effective.
position between two rural towns and had him in				However, privacy groups have a legitimate point
handcuffswithin an hour, according to Nevada				in their fears that a technologyof this sort is ripe
authorities. The fact that another motoristspotted				to be exploited unless the lawmakers take action
Helder in passing helped authorities, but the cell				to limitthe very personal data offered by this
phone signal was adead giveaway				tracking technology. Email is a perfectexample of
"We got a call from the FBI at approximately 3:20				a technology that, in its infant stages, was seen
p.m. that the cell phone that				as revolutionarynew form of communication. Now,
(Helder) had been known to have had been				email systems are so overloaded with spam
activated somewhere between Battle				comingin from not only the United States but also
Mountain and Golconda," said Maj. Rick Bradley of				from Russia and Nigeria, thatcongress has acted
the Nevada Highway Patrol. "Westarted hitting				to implement new laws to stem the tide.
Interstate 80."				Cell phones now have the ability to send and
Bradley said tracking down Helder without the				receive photographs, how muchlonger will it be
pinpoint location provided by the				before advertising, in full color begins to find its
FBI would have been tougher, given the sprawling				way toyour telephone? The outrage of having
region.				"cell-phone spam" may be so great that
"It's really a rural area. There's not that much				heconsumer uproar will cause any type of mobile
police presence," Bradley said.				technology to be severely limitedby law, perhaps
Cell phone triangulation is a well-known tracking				even stripping out some of the positive aspects
method within the wirelessindustry, said Michael				such as thoseused by law enforcement.

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Your Cell Phone as a Beacon