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Computer Science > Cryptography and Security

arXiv:2405.14975 (cs)
[Submitted on 23 May 2024]

Title:Surveilling the Masses with Wi-Fi-Based Positioning Systems

Authors:Erik Rye, Dave Levin
View a PDF of the paper titled Surveilling the Masses with
Wi-Fi-Based Positioning Systems, by Erik Rye and 1 other authors
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    Abstract:Wi-Fi-based Positioning Systems (WPSes) are used by
    modern mobile devices to learn their position using nearby Wi-Fi
    access points as landmarks. In this work, we show that Apple's
    WPS can be abused to create a privacy threat on a global scale.
    We present an attack that allows an unprivileged attacker to
    amass a worldwide snapshot of Wi-Fi BSSID geolocations in only a
    matter of days. Our attack makes few assumptions, merely
    exploiting the fact that there are relatively few dense regions
    of allocated MAC address space. Applying this technique over the
    course of a year, we learned the precise locations of over 2
    billion BSSIDs around the world.
    The privacy implications of such massive datasets become more
    stark when taken longitudinally, allowing the attacker to track
    devices' movements. While most Wi-Fi access points do not move
    for long periods of time, many devices -- like compact travel
    routers -- are specifically designed to be mobile. We present
    several case studies that demonstrate the types of attacks on
    privacy that Apple's WPS enables: We track devices moving in and
    out of war zones (specifically Ukraine and Gaza), the effects of
    natural disasters (specifically the fires in Maui), and the
    possibility of targeted individual tracking by proxy -- all by
    remotely geolocating wireless access points. We provide
    recommendations to WPS operators and Wi-Fi access point
    manufacturers to enhance the privacy of hundreds of millions of
    users worldwide. Finally, we detail our efforts at responsibly
    disclosing this privacy vulnerability, and outline some
    mitigations that Apple and Wi-Fi access point manufacturers have
    implemented both independently and as a result of our work.

Comments: Published at IEEE S&P 2024
Subjects: Cryptography and Security (cs.CR); Networking and Internet
          Architecture (cs.NI)
Cite as:  arXiv:2405.14975 [cs.CR]
          (or arXiv:2405.14975v1 [cs.CR] for this version)

Submission history

From: Erik Rye [view email]
[v1] Thu, 23 May 2024 18:22:12 UTC (3,376 KB)
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