Personal Security

I'm sure by now everyone in the world has seen the Apple security issue that was released last night.  Couple of articles for those that aren't in the loop:  Fox News and The Guardian

I'm a technology junkie, not a device junkie. However, my wife and kids are device junkies and they have  iPhones and iPads.  I'm not jumping on the rant band wagon, I have a point here:  On Monday, my youngest daughter went for a bike ride with her sister and best friend, during their journey's her phone fell out of her pocket.  Typically, this is just something that happens to little kids, no worries. Now, let's add in this new privacy "feature" that Apple decided to add to a device without my knowledge.

Let's get to the point of what is bothering me.  First, lets look at what can be found on the iPhone device: locations with time stamps.  (If you look at this example map, you an see how detailed the tracking is)  Back to my daughter dropping her phone. For the sake of making a point, let's just say someone from this nice little list (National Sex Offender List) picked it up and had some IT savvy and know how to get the data off and view the details. All of a sudden, some perverted bastard knows the times and routes my daughters takes to and from school. He could know the route she takes up to the local convenient store with her friends to buy a coke and candy.  I am not one of those people who live in fear. I prefer to face my concerns and deal with issues. However, how do you deal with a company the size of Apple?  If I had my way, I would sue them for what I consider my daughters safety to be with ... and that number is "How much is Apple worth, and multiply it times 100" -  there is no price I put on my daughters safety.

"The feature has been around since June 2010, meaning some iPhones have nearly a year of location history recorded in a single file -- every step, trip to the park, family vacation and more. And that, said security experts Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden, who uncovered the file, poses serious problems." -Fox News

Want to see all of this for yourself? Want to see what the stalker/pervert an see? Point your browswer over to the GitHub project and download it. The author here has a nice little write-up with a lot of details and explanations. Hopefully, for the sake of a bunch of innocent young people out there, Apple will release a patch to delete/disable this 'feature'.