Surveillance

A rash of stories this week underlining the extent of surveillance and the way it's supported by commonly used tools.

China
For a glimpse into a dystopian future that's already arrived, take a look at The New York Times' investigation into surveillance in China. The Times analysed more than 100,000 government bidding documents and found that "China's ambition to collect digital and biological data from its citizens is more expansive and invasive than previously known." Among the takeaways; Chinese police analyze human behaviors to ensure facial recognition cameras capture as much activity as possible; phone trackers link people’s digital lives to their physical movements; and DNA, iris scan samples and voice prints are being collected indiscriminately from people with no connection to crime.

Strava
Another illustration of the risks of the Strava fitness app. Back in 2018, the locations of secret military bases were exposed when members of the military failed to turn off the apps while exercising. Now it's emerged that Strava has been used to track the movements of Israeli defence personnel. The issue was discovered by investigative group, FakeReporter, which explains how fake running "segments" were placed inside known military bases. They were then used to track individuals exercising on the bases. In one example, a user running on a top-secret base thought to have links to the Israeli nuclear programme could be tracked across other military bases and to a foreign country.

Phones
The largest European telephone companies are testing a new mechanism for marketing their customer data. Der Spiegel reports that Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom are trialling the system which involves assigning users a fixed ID based on data including their mobile phone number. Until now, cellphone providers have forwarded most customer data without intervention. The new solution would be invaluable to advertisers, particularly those affected by Apple's moves to limit tracking.