Hacker Accesses Internal 'Tile' Tool That Provides Location Data To Cops (404media.co) 39
A hacker has gained access to internal tools used by the location tracking company Tile, including one that processes location data requests for law enforcement, and stolen a large amount of customer data, such as their names, physical addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers, 404 Media reports. From the report: The stolen data itself does not include the location of Tile devices, which are small pieces of hardware users attach to their keys or other items to monitor remotely. But it is still a significant breach that shows how tools intended for internal use by company workers can be accessed and then leveraged by hackers to collect sensitive data en masse. It also shows that this type of company, one which tracks peoples' locations, can become a target for hackers. "Basically I had access to everything," the hacker told 404 Media in an online chat. The hacker says they also demanded payment from Tile but did not receive a response.
Tile sells various tracking devices which can be located through Tile's accompanying app. Life360, another location data focused company, acquired Tile in November 2021. The hacker says they obtained login credentials for a Tile system that they believe belonged to a former Tile employee. One tool specifically says it can be used to "initiate data access, location, or law enforcement requests." Users can then lookup Tile customers by their phone number or another identifier, according to a screenshot of the tool.
Tile sells various tracking devices which can be located through Tile's accompanying app. Life360, another location data focused company, acquired Tile in November 2021. The hacker says they obtained login credentials for a Tile system that they believe belonged to a former Tile employee. One tool specifically says it can be used to "initiate data access, location, or law enforcement requests." Users can then lookup Tile customers by their phone number or another identifier, according to a screenshot of the tool.
Not surprising... (Score:2)
If Tile had followed some simple guidelines regarding least privilege, account and credentials management, and onboarding/offboarding processes this might never have happened.
And for all of us Olde Pfarts (tm), think of it like an old cartoon quote: "If Woody had gone straight to the police, this might never have happened."
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So, I know the depths of idiocy we are dealing with.
I recommend watching the documentary, "Idiocracy" in the privacy of your own home, but please, remove any sharp or heavy objects from the area first, so that you do not destroy your video device.
that is the world we live in, pretty much,
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I recommend watching the documentary, "Idiocracy" in the privacy of your own home, but please, remove any sharp or heavy objects from the area first, so that you do not destroy your video device.
Welcome to Slashdot, I love you.
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No offense intended, but why do you love me? Are you Chinese and trying to scam me? Eastern European and same deal?
No one loves me, no one could. I am a boomer, I am bald. I am overweight, I am not right wing, and live in the south. When I lived in Boston, I wasn't leftwing enough. I like cats. (most Americans prefer Dogs).
Someday soon, when I outlive my usefulness, I will remove myself, so people in the USA who hate old people c
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I had presumed the person I was replying to hadn't seen that documentary.
No offense intended, but why do you love me? Are you Chinese and trying to scam me? Eastern European and same deal?
No one loves me, no one could. I am a boomer, I am bald. I am overweight, I am not right wing, and live in the south. When I lived in Boston, I wasn't leftwing enough. I like cats. (most Americans prefer Dogs).
Someday soon, when I outlive my usefulness, I will remove myself, so people in the USA who hate old people can rejoice that there is one less.
Just in case I *whooshed* you...that's a take on the line "Welcome to Costco, I love you" from "Idocracy".
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Lol nobody thinks anyone on Slashdot is in their 20s. The site doesn't even allow new sign ups at the moment.
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Idiocracy (2006) was supposed to be a social commentary satire not a documentary! /s
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now, it is a nice thought to think that the simplest of security rules, followed religiously, may have made this 'hack' more difficult, but, I see that "100 most commonly used passwords" article every year or two...
So, I know the depths of idiocy we are dealing with.
I know. I see those articles too... and that is why a lot of companies have things like password complexity rules and password ageing. And while those simple measures won't guarantee anything (nothing is foolproof because fools are so ingenious), they certainly would have added hurdles. Personal devices? Uh, you're on your own.
I recommend watching the documentary, "Idiocracy" in the privacy of your own home, but please, remove any sharp or heavy objects from the area first, so that you do not destroy your video device.
that is the world we live in, pretty much, now.
Combined with the world of Harrison Bergeron [wikipedia.org]
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When you militarize your police (Score:5, Interesting)
We spend billions telling cops that they're in a war zone and training them like we would military personnel going up against hostile foes. So you not only get trigger happy police who are in a constant state of fear despite not making the top 20 most dangerous jobs you get a massive and easily abusable surveillance network.
The only way to stop this is to turn away from tough on crime legislation but damn that stuff feels good. It's fun to watch cop dramas and see them taking down villain after villain. It's fun to watch dirty Harry and Charles Bronson shoot criminals, even when they shoot them in the back for stealing a camera... That stuff gets into your brain and it rots it. Critical thinking and medial literacy could allow you to enjoy a male power fantasy without the brain rot but we don't teach those in schools...
At some point we need to make a decision and that point is coming soon.
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You might want to try another AI, the one you used is glitchy.
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I mean you're famous for weird incoherent posts and until recently I thought it was just a gimmick.
I dunno man if you're not trolling maybe see a neurologist.
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Have you ever even had a quality relationship in your life?
I mean, it's 2024 and I'm still reading slashdot.. no um.. no?
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I get some of the rsilvergun criticism, our politics align but ugh it can just be a bit much sometimes.
That said what mainstream media are you talking about Democracy Now!?
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We need laws against the gathering of this kind of information in the first place. Build your tracker tags so that only the owner can locate them, and your company has no way to respond to law enforcement enquiries.
Otherwise it's inevitably that someone will steal that data, and then they know not only people's names and email addresses, but where there stuff is, probably what their stuff is, and very likely where they live and work/go to school.
The only way to prevent this happening is to not collect the i
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We need laws against the gathering of this kind of information in the first place.
We live in the age of parallel construction. Cops would still gather this stuff. Prosecutors just wouldn't use it.
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Soon to be tied in with real-time anti-theft tools
https://x.com/visualfeastwang/... [x.com]
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The only way to stop this is to turn away from tough on crime legislation but damn that stuff feels good.
Like "Defund the Police?" It could be argued "Defund the Police" is entirely fueled by "Damn, that feels good."
We all see how well this leniency is working.
Defund the police is a Republican slogan (Score:2)
Anyone on the left with half a brain knew it was going to backfire and it did but as usual nobody listens to us or anyone sensible because everyone wants reform now. I get that it seems like the simplest thing in t
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"Defund the police" actually resulted in Democrats spending more money on the police.
Defunding police was never about leniency. It was about funding social services like we should instead of sending cops with soldiers' weapons to deal with soft problems.
The problem is actually white people, but we aren't able to say that, let alone deal with it.
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We spend billions telling cops that they're in a war zone and training them like we would military personnel going up against hostile foes. So you not only get trigger happy police who are in a constant state of fear despite not making the top 20 most dangerous jobs you get a massive and easily abusable surveillance network
Dude if the cops have been trained like the military you're lucky
When I got out of the military I was considering being a cop. I signed up for a cop forum and got banned because I accused them of being LARPers and disagreed with them on almost anything involving use of force.
I later realized no those were actual cops. I more recently signed up for a different cop forum to recreate the experience and was actually surprised that the guys there seemed to have a grip on things and weren't pure psychopaths. I
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We spend billions telling cops that they're in a war zone and training them like we would military personnel going up against hostile foes. So you not only get trigger happy police who are in a constant state of fear despite not making the top 20 most dangerous jobs you get a massive and easily abusable surveillance network
Dude if the cops have been trained like the military you're lucky
When I got out of the military I was considering being a cop. I signed up for a cop forum and got banned because I accused them of being LARPers and disagreed with them on almost anything involving use of force.
I later realized no those were actual cops. I more recently signed up for a different cop forum to recreate the experience and was actually surprised that the guys there seemed to have a grip on things and weren't pure psychopaths. I basically recounted the story I just told you and asked the difference and they said yeah it's unfortunate but a lot of forces are unfortunately trained that way and usually don't get along well there.
So well anyhow the cops who are shooting people left and right are WORSE than people fighting in a warzone.
Having done some work with the US (and UK) militaries as a civvie, the level of discipline maintained is astounding. I'm sure there are some bad apples but they're definitely kept out of sight. People knew their shit or at the very least knew how to not being in someone else's way.
However cops shouldn't be trained in the same way, use of force is an absolute last resort, as it is here in the UK where armed police officers are a rarity outside of popular areas where threats are likely (I.E. Westminster).
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I mean I kind of feel the same way but was honestly surprised how on the same page I was with the 2nd group. Maybe they're just putting up a good front or maybe they're doing their best while carrying a stack of biases in their back pocket but well anyhow they were ok from what I saw.
I also tend to have good interactions with black cops.