A Simple Software Fix Could Limit Location Data Sharing

Location data sharing from wireless carriers has been a major privacy issue in recent years. At the Usenix security conference on Thursday, though, network security researchers Paul Schmitt of Princeton University and Barath Raghavan of the University of Southern California are presenting a scheme called Pretty Good Phone Privacy that can mask wireless users' locations from carriers with a simple software upgrade that any carrier can adopt—no tectonic infrastructure shifts required. “We see it as a user privacy issue that carriers can amass this location data whether or not they are currently actively selling it. “This is privacy at very little cost.” Bruce Schneier, Cryptographer The opportunity to collect bulk location data from wireless networks arises from the fact that each SIM card has a permanent ID number, known as an “international mobile subscriber identity,” or IMSI number.