Tool Reveals iPad and iPhone User Locations

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Tool Reveals iPad and iPhone User Locations

Posted by timothy on Thursday May 9, 2013 @01:35AM from the cat's-away-mice-will-play dept.

mask.of.sanity writes "A researcher has found that Apple user locations can be potentially determined by tapping into Apple Maps and he has created a Python tool to make the process easier. iSniff GPS accesses Apple's database of wireless access points, which is collected by iPhones and iPads that have GPS and Wi-Fi location services enabled. Apple uses this crowd-sourced data to run its location services; however, the location database is not meant to be public. You can download the tool via Giuthub."

36 comments

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

GUITHUB???? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-09 01:40 · Score: 0

GUITHUB????
1. Re:GUITHUB???? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-09 01:43 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  No, Giuthub. Learn to read, asshole.
2. Re:GUITHUB???? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-09 12:54 · Score: 0
  
  No, GUIDhub.
Ouch! by hcs_$reboot · 2013-05-09 01:43 · Score: 5, Funny

The divorce rate will increase dramatically if Apple doesn't fix this ...

--
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
1. Re:Ouch! by fekmist · 2013-05-09 01:45 · Score: 1
  
  good !
2. Re:Ouch! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-09 01:48 · Score: 1
  
  No one would dare visit that "Giuthub" website anyhow!
Protect yourself by Thornburg · 2013-05-09 01:50 · Score: 4, Informative

And this is why your iDevice should never be set to automatically join wifi networks.
Actually, NO device should be configured to automatically join wifi networks.
(For those who didn't read the docs that go with the software, this relies upon running an access point with no DHCP, which is what forces the iDevice to send ARPs for the last DHCP server it used).
Also, this means that if you want to "hide" your home network, don't run DHCP on your WiFi router, use another device.
1. Re:Protect yourself by beelsebob · 2013-05-09 02:19 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Joining, and discovering are not the same thing. You don't need to join a network for your phone to register it as near your location.
2. Re:Protect yourself by neorush · 2013-05-09 02:22 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed, anyone who has there device configured like this doesn't keep up with Doctor Who.
  
  --
  neorush
3. Re:Protect yourself by StripedCow · 2013-05-09 02:48 · Score: 1
  
  Thus, a better solution would be that the device changes its ID every once in a while.
  Might be a good idea for nonportable devices too, because that would screw up Google's wifi data harvesting practices.
  
  --
  If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
4. Re:Protect yourself by Thornburg · 2013-05-09 02:56 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Joining, and discovering are not the same thing. You don't need to join a network for your phone to register it as near your location.
  Absolutely true. But your phone won't give away the MAC address of your previous network unless it's trying to join the fake wifi network. Unless I'm greatly misunderstanding what I read.
  From GitHub:
  
  To solicit ARPs from iOS devices, set up an access point with DHCP disabled (e.g. using airbase-ng) and configure your sniffing interface to the same channel.
  Once associated, iOS devices will send up to three ARPs destined for the MAC address of the DHCP server on previously joined networks. On typical home WiFi routers, the DHCP server MAC address is the same as the WiFi interface MAC address, which can be used for accurate geolocation. On larger corporate WiFi networks, the MAC of the DHCP server may be different and thus cannot be used for geolocation.
  I'm pretty sure that for a device to be associated, it has to be attempting to join the network. I could be wrong, I'm not a WiFi engineer. Please correct me if I'm wrong about that.
5. Re: Protect yourself by Diamon · 2013-05-09 04:45 · Score: 1
  
  Luckily, ATMOS doesn't suffer from such security flaws.
6. Re:Protect yourself by antdude · 2013-05-09 07:49 · Score: 1
  
  For iCloud and tracking the Apple devices, isn't this connecting to wireless networks required?
  
  --
  Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
7. Re:Protect yourself by Smurf · 2013-05-09 08:17 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I'm pretty sure that for a device to be associated, it has to be attempting to join the network. I could be wrong, I'm not a WiFi engineer. Please correct me if I'm wrong about that.
  No, I'm pretty sure that you are absolutely right about that: You are not a WiFi engineer.
8. Re:Protect yourself by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-09 13:27 · Score: 0
  
  That was too easy.
Can be used to find where people live.... by Xenious · 2013-05-09 02:10 · Score: 3, Insightful

Hmmm, "it can be used to find where people live", so can a phone book. ;) A lot of the time summaries take a very specific issue (quoting from Thornburg) "this relies upon running an access point with no DHCP, which is what forces the iDevice to send ARPs for the last DHCP server it used" and escalating it to a more dramatic issue. Sometimes with a very simple partial solution (again from Thornburg) "NO device should be configured to automatically join wifi networks," and a general attack with the open source vs closed or apple vs anyone fighting. Grated the dry description isn't as eye catching but its much more logical.
For the record yes I have an iPhone and no I am not setup to automatically join new wifi networks.
-Xen

--
-Xen
1. Re:Can be used to find where people live.... by Windwraith · 2013-05-09 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  Well...it's not to be used to find where people lives, but if it keeps wifi history, then it means it can find where people is *right now*
  While it can have legit purposes, this could be bad in hands of stalkers, thieves and other criminals, specially when the potential victims have no clue. Also other less criminal but very potentially annoying/conflictive uses if this becomes common knowledge.
2. Re:Can be used to find where people live.... by tlhIngan · 2013-05-09 04:09 · Score: 1
  
  Well...it's not to be used to find where people lives, but if it keeps wifi history, then it means it can find where people is *right now*
  While it can have legit purposes, this could be bad in hands of stalkers, thieves and other criminals, specially when the potential victims have no clue. Also other less criminal but very potentially annoying/conflictive uses if this becomes common knowledge.
  Well, given it needs an access point with the same name, I'd say "right now" would be within the range of the access point. Which means they're within about 100 feet or so.
  Also, it requires having a network with the same name, so you'll need to make a Linksys network, a Netgear network, etc in order to find one that someone is using.
  Though, modern wifi routers people use for internet (i.e., ISP provided) usually use the last 3 octets of the MAC as part of the SSID unless changed. So things aren't as easy. Hell, I haven't seen a Linksys SSID in a long while.
Illegal? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-09 02:13 · Score: 0

Taping into a system that is not ment to be public is illegal, right?
old? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-09 02:15 · Score: 1

As seen in the picture in TFA, there was a (lightning?) talk about this on the 29c3, this was over 5 months ago If they haven't fixed it since, why should the fix it now?
Presented at Blackhat USA July 2012, code publish by fuzzel · 2013-05-09 02:17 · Score: 2

From the github page: "Written by @hubert3 / . Presented at Blackhat USA July 2012, code published on Github 2012-08-31"
Slashdot, News of Last year, today! ;)
But yes, it is a rather cool hack that still works....

--
http://unfix.org
As usual, misleading by gnasher719 · 2013-05-09 02:19 · Score: 3, Insightful

iOS devices (and many other devices) use the known locations of wireless access points to determine their own location. (They check which wireless access points they can see, with which signal strength, and compare the results with a database of wireless access locations). What this guy found was that he could access the same database. So he can find locations of wireless access locations, which are _not_ iPads or iPhones, and there is no reason to assume that they would be owned by Mac or iOS device owners.

That said, the information should not be available to anything but the operating system on a device.
1. Re:As usual, misleading by netsentry · 2013-05-09 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  "The tool works by accessing Apple's database of wireless access points, which is collected by iPhones and iPads that have GPS and wifi location services enabled."
  Although other devices may be accessing these points as well, these locations were reported by Apple devices. Once the MAC is resolved for that point, the process continues by isolating the devices using that router using a service such as Google's location services. Google locked down security on this service for this exact reason http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20074571-281/google-curbs-web-map-exposing-phone-locations/.
  Read deeper into the article before judging.
2. Re:As usual, misleading by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-09 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  The point you might have missed, is that the iOS Devices send ARP requests to the MAC addresses of the last three networks' DHCP servers. This gives you a fair idea of where the device was used.
Apple already fixed this by jafiwam · 2013-05-09 02:19 · Score: 1, Funny

The "Wi-fi never works again" bug^h^h^h feature is the fix.
Just update you iDevice, or get it warm, or get it cool, or bump it, or don't update it and your Wi-FI might drop off WiFi forever. Fixing the problem! Apple, it just works!
Now you can find that troll. by FuzzyDustBall · 2013-05-09 02:42 · Score: 1

Now you can find that troll and punch him/her in the face... All you have to do is hack their computer, sniff the traffic until you see something from the WiFi router, use this database to find the approximate location of the user then knock on every door withing a 100 meter radius and punch the people that answer... I'm sure one of them will be the troll.
Wait a minute by 93+Escort+Wagon · 2013-05-09 02:47 · Score: 4, Funny

There's a glaring flaw in the summary. In order for this tool to work, the iPad owner has to have used Apple Maps.
Who actually uses Apple Maps? Haven't most of those people already been eaten by kangaroos in the desert or driven into canals?

--
#DeleteChrome
1. Re:Wait a minute by Ryanrule · 2013-05-09 03:38 · Score: 1
  
  Apple maps is great fun on the ipad. Pull up a big city and its like being in the future.
2. Re:Wait a minute by Idbar · 2013-05-09 03:52 · Score: 1
  
  Haven't most of those people already been eaten by kangaroos in the desert or driven into canals?
  I guess it will make an excellent forensic application then! They will be able to find those poor missing people.
3. Re:Wait a minute by _xeno_ · 2013-05-09 04:46 · Score: 1
  
  Apple maps is great fun on the ipad. Pull up a big city and its like being in the future.
  A dystopian future full of broken buildings, weird piles of wood and leaves that may have been trees, and lumps in the road where cars used to be.
  Whatever they're using to automatically generate 3D buildings is kind of cool in theory - it just produces hilariously awful results.
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
4. Re:Wait a minute by Bigby · 2013-05-09 05:06 · Score: 2
  
  So it is like SimCity, but it works
Buried Lede by ThatsNotPudding · 2013-05-09 05:07 · Score: 1

When is his trial date?

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/auernheimer-aka-weev-sentenced-to-41-months-for-attipad-hack/
Do NOT click on that link by Anonymous Coward · 2013-05-09 09:11 · Score: 0

No, Giuthub. Learn to read, asshole.
I hovered over the "download the tool via Giuthub" link and noticed it is pointing to some site called "github" instead of Giuthub, so obviously it is a trap. DO NOT CLICK ON IT!
tool? by pbjones · 2013-05-09 11:24 · Score: 1

the only tool here is the person who goes out of way to set up a Linux box and WiFi point to track people. If you consider that the average WiFi has to be reasonably close to the target, then you must already have some general idea about where the target is, a lot of trouble for almost nothing.

--
There was an unknown error in the submission.
Maynard by bmxer4130 · 2013-05-12 08:19 · Score: 1

I read this as '''''[The Band] Tool