Date: Sun, 07 May 2000 13:56:08 -0700 From: Doug Barton <DougB@gorean.org> To: Mike Smith <msmith@freebsd.org> Cc: Olaf Hoyer <ohoyer@fbwi.fh-wilhelmshaven.de>, freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: [OT] Finding people with GSM phones (was Re: GPS heads up ) Message-ID: <3915D868.5301CCAD@gorean.org> References: <200005061909.MAA07423@mass.cdrom.com>
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Mike Smith wrote:
>
> > There were some famous cases where some criminals were located by tracking
> > down their cell phone. The police needed some decision from court to do
> > that, but after that, it was a short way to go. The GSM nets have some of
> > this ability built in, to track phones. The operators only don't want the
> > "normal" citizen or user to know about that.
>
> This capability of GSM was well known when it was introduced in .au, but
> when my phone was stolen, the telco bastards wouldn't admit to being able
> to tell me anything about where it was (even though I could still call
> it...).
>
> What's being proposed here sounds just slightly scary.
No, think very, very scary. What's already possible is frightening
enough. Yes, there are some public safety benefits, and if I were really
doing anything criminal the last thing I'd want to have with me is a
cell phone. But, it's universally true that the only criminals caught
are the stupid ones.
BTW, you do realize that in many cases "off" for your cell phone
doesn't really mean off, right? :)
Doug
--
"Live free or die"
- State motto of my ancestral homeland, New Hampshire
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