iPhone owners are being tracked

If you own an iPhone there is a good chance that every step you have taken has been recorded! Users movements are being tracked and stored without their knowledge in a file that’s on the phone.


The continually-updated log that could easily be accessed by a nosey employer or jealous partner, is held on both the iPhone and the computer it connects to. Therefore if the phone has been updated and you ( or someone else ) has access to the PC, they can open the file and read its contents, a list of coordinates, and associated timestamps.


The records go back to the release of the fourth version of the iOS operating system in June last year. The true contents of the file called “consolidated.db” were discovered by two British software developers who were working on ways of visualising location data for websites. They have now created an application to reveal the secrets! More info to follow.


As we know mobile network operators keep records of users movements based on which masts they are connected to, which the Police and intelligence agencies can access legally but the data stored by the iPhone could however be accessed by anyone ( via the PC ) and is not encrypted or password protected.


Only recently I was employed in a consultative capacity to retrieve such data for analysis from a PC that was being used for iPhone backups. The data retrieved in this instance spanned past a year and included amongst other things voice mails, SMS, MMS, Video and Pictures. I hardly need to explain the implications therein.


As an example if you wanted to see text messages and any associated pictures that had been sent and replied to, they can be provided in a very nice shiny PDF ready to trot off to court with or slapped on a cheating spouses breakfast table. Equally if there was suspicion of less than above board financial transactions and such conversations, this would give the Judge some sound bedtime reading. So long as you have free access to the phone or the PC, the law is very much on your side.


This sort of work can initially be quite depressing however the end results can be very rewarding and it can change peoples lives for the better. If you need such things analysing get in contact and we can chat. Abuse the technology at your peril as big brother is not only watching, he’s got his recorder running too.