NOW READ THIS
("Security Advisory")
Submitted by: Bill Hickey
NCVA List Master
NRT-0462 Locate Mobile Phones:
"SNIFF" is short for "Social Network Integrated Friend Finder." With it users can locate friends
using their mobile phones or via the web. With a combination of GPS and other location technology
it uses mobile phones to let users instantly find friends and family. "Sniffing" works through
similar technology used by police to track down suspected terrorists or missing children through
their mobile phones. The phone sends a signal to nearby base stations. Positioning software
performs a triangulation calculation on the information from the base stations and converts it
too a geographical location. Only people whom the user invites, or accepts an invitation, are
able to locate the user. Within the application, it's possible to view and manage who has locating
privileges. The accuracy of the program depends. It attempts to obtain the most accurate location
possible but location accuracy can be impacted by the user's location, including whether they are
indoors or outdoors. Attempts to locate phones which are in an active data session (i.e., using
SNIFF) will experience degraded location results such as less accurate locates, or in some cases
location failure. Opponents of employee surveillance are concerned that SNIFF could be used by
employers to track down their employees no matter where they are. See the SNIFF website at
http://www.sniffu.com for further details.
(The Times and sniffu.com 01APR08)