GPS is supposed to be the trend of the future, but does it also create a security risk?
I'm not on FourSquare, but I imagine that when I finally jump into the 21st century and get a smartphone, I will join. I mentioned that to my brother the other day and he told me about an interesting development from the tech community: a website called "Please Rob Me" that uses FourSquare data to tell the world when you're not home so that robbers can safely come by and steal your stuff.
Not really knowing how FourSquare works, I had assumed that it only spread your location information to people you know, who you've chosen to include on your FourSquare network, and who you trust not to rob your house. Apparently, this isn't quite the case, as Please Rob Me actually takes streaming information about people's current locations to create a list of empty homes with no one to guard them.
Security risks posed by social media have been raised in the past. We all know the dangers of "sexting" and how it can ruin potential future careers (and dignity). A hapless teen that sends one photo to his/her significant other can then turn around and forward it to 20,000 more by posting it to the Internet. I'm sure it was a hard way to learn that Internet data doesn't die. There are lessons to be learned here, too, but how seriously do we take them? Who is in charge of evaluating these risks, and should there be a group that attempts to govern them? Is the new trend of 'checking in' bound to be the next Internet trend that is too-late-discovered to have unexpected adverse effects on individuals and society?
Huffington Post article: http://tinyurl.com/yj49zuk
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3 comments:
They say a man's home is his castle, but now I can be mayor too!?
This is why I never post my home on Foursquare.
My friend, who shall remain nameless, is the mayor of her home, she added her own house on Foursquare, and checks in at home. I find this a bit sad, and a little upsetting (for the reasons said above).
Long story short, use social media effectively. I disagree with some security problems, like posting vacation pictures on Facebook while on vacation will show someone you're not home and could be robbed, but I do agree here. If you're going with geo-location to anyone and everyone, don't be stupid.
Reading stories like these make me want to say 'Thank God' I live in the Third World, where our streets and homes are not numbered, and Internet and bandwidth issues make use of the social media still a thing of the few.
Maybe I should tell me friends back home not to look unto the West with so much envy, because we(from the Third World) might not be getting the short end of the stick (from mother nature and life in general)as we think we are.
Nonetheless, I agree with Trace that we should not be stupid in our use of the social media. I would not want my home robbed, thank you very much.
I was nodding my head in agreement with the "don't be stupid thing." And then I started to think about things I've posted on Facebook within the past couple days. 1) Photos of my new apartment in which the intersection is in plain view. 2) A status update that I was in Baltimore this weekend. Granted, my privacy settings are strong, and anyone who is my friend is someone I trust not to rob me. But still...I removed the photo. Just shows how social media have become so ingrained in our lives that we don't think twice about how they might compromise our safety.
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