What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network

Re:What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network by MichaelApproved on Sunday October 19, 2014 @08:22AM (#8478048)

Could it be used as a sort of fingerprint to identify phones? I'm imagining using a scanner to create a list of phones in the area. You walk through the halls of congress to compile a list of devices. Do this every few days or over the course of a month, to eliminate visitors.

Now that you have your fingerprint, you can leave a few scanners around where you're trying to track the congressmen. IE, if you want to blackmail, put it around strip clubs.

Seems like a major security hole to me.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network by victorvation on Sunday October 19, 2014 @12:13PM (#8478626)

That's definitely possible. There are already a few startups that use the same method to track analytics and repeat customers.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network by adestefan on Sunday October 19, 2014 @09:58AM (#8478249)

iOS 8 somewhat mitigates this through using random MAC addresses when scanning

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network by breakall on Sunday October 19, 2014 @11:52AM (#8478561)

> somewhat

Due to the extremely narrow circumstances [1] under which the MAC address randomization is actually used, the feature may as well not exist.

[1] http://blog.airtightnetworks.com/ios8-mac-randomgate/

[ Parent | on HN ]