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     Apple's Wi-Fi-based Positioning System Reveals Access Point Locations

   Adam Engst

   At his Krebs on Security site, [1]Brian Krebs writes:

     Apple and the satellite-based broadband service Starlink each
     recently took steps to address new research into the potential
     security and privacy implications of how their services geo-locate
     devices. Researchers from the University of Maryland say they relied
     on publicly available data from Apple to track the location of
     billions of devices globally ' including non-Apple devices like
     Starlink systems ' and found they could use this data to monitor the
     destruction of Gaza, as well as the movements and in many cases
     identities of Russian and Ukrainian troops.

   This fascinating story underscores the difficulty of imagining every
   potential security hole in advance. Practically speaking, if you want
   to [2]opt out of having the location of your Wi-Fi access point tracked
   by Apple, append _nomap to the end of its name (SSID). That also
   [3]blocks Google from recording its location. Unfortunately, you'll
   have to reauthenticate every connected device. Locking down the
   location API used by the researchers is undoubtedly more complicated
   for Apple, but it seems likely that's in the works.

   [4]Read original article

References

   1. https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/05/why-your-wi-fi-router-doubles-as-an-apple-airtag/
   2. https://support.apple.com/102515
   3. https://support.google.com/maps/answer/1725632?hl=en#zippy=%2Chow-do-i-opt-my-access-point-out-of-google-location-services
   4. https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/05/why-your-wi-fi-router-doubles-as-an-apple-airtag/

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