Geolocation fad can affect privacy & security for Airmen Published Jan. 6, 2011 By Patrick Ary AEDC/PA ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- Privacy and security aren't what they used to be. With advancements in technology, enhanced GPS capabilities and smartphones with built-in GPS, managing privacy and security is a full-time job. But with new technologies come new risks. Today, more than ever, it is vitally important that Air Force leaders, Airmen and Air Force civilians understand what kind of data they are broadcasting and what they can do to protect themselves and their families. Geotagging Geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification to photographs, video, websites and SMS messages. It is the equivalent of adding a 10-digit grid coordinate to everything you post on the Internet. Geotags are automatically embedded in pictures taken with smartphones. Many people are unaware of the fact that the photos they take with their smartphones and load to the Internet have been geotagged. Photos posted to photo sharing sites like Flickr and Picasa can also be tagged with location, but it is not an automatic function. Photos have used geotagging for quite some time. Certain formats like the JPEG format allow for geographical information to be embedded within the image and then read by picture viewers. This shows the exact location where a picture was taken. Most modern digital cameras do not automatically add geolocation metadata to pictures, but that is not always true. Camera owners should study their camera's manual and understand how to turn off GPS functions. On photo sharing sites, people can tag a location on their photos, even if their camera does not have a GPS function. A simple search conducted by the Army for "Afghanistan" on Flickr revealed thousands of location tagged photographs that have been uploaded. Tagging photos with an exact location on the Internet allows random people to track an individual's location and correlate it with other information. Military members deploy to areas all over the world. Some locations are public; others are classified. Soldiers should not tag their uploaded photos with a location. Publishing photos of classified locations can be detrimental to mission success, and such actions are in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Location-based social networking Location-based social networking is quickly growing in popularity. A variety of applications are capitalizing on users' desire to broadcast their geographic location. Most location-based social networking applications focus on "checking in" at various locations to earn points, badges, discounts and other geo-related awards. The increased popularity of these applications is changing the way we as a digital culture view security and privacy on an individual level. These changes in perception are also creating OPSEC concerns. Foursquare is a location-based social networking website for mobile devices. Users "check in" at various places using a mobile website. They are then awarded points and sometimes "badges." Users of Foursquare share their location with friends, meet new people and get coupons. Users can also connect and publish their "check ins" to Facebook and Twitter. If someone is not a friend on Foursquare they can still track your whereabouts through Facebook. Facebook's "Places" is similar to Foursquare in that it gives an individual's location when the user posts information using a mobile application. This function is automatically active on all Facebook accounts until disabled. Gowalla is another location-based social networking application that functions much like Foursquare and Facebook Places. Users can build a Passport which includes a collection of stamps from the places users have been. Gowalla users can also post photos and submit tips at various locations. SCVNGR is a location-based social networking application that takes "checking in" a step further by allowing companies, educational institutions and organizations to build challenges inside the platform. Users are encouraged to complete the challenges in order to earn points, badges or real-life discounts and coupons. Why are these applications and others like them potentially dangerous? Location-based social networking applications allow strangers to track your movements every day. If they watch someone long enough they will know exactly when and where to find that person on any given day. By tracking movements and aggregating information, strangers can determine where someone lives and works. And if certain applications are used daily around Air Force populations, an enemy can determine potential targets. One Airman exposing his or her location can affect the entire mission. Military members conducting operations in classified areas should not use location-based social networking services. These services will bring the enemy right to their doorstep. Avoid giving away too much Users can delete geotagged photos, but once the information is out there, it's out of the user's hands. Even if posted briefly, the enemy can capture vital information and record exact grid coordinates of troop populations. One of the simplest ways to avoid displaying too much information is to disable the geotagging function on smartphones. Since most smartphones automatically display geographical information, it takes a little more effort on the user's part to protect their privacy. It's important that all users understand their specific systems and make efforts to turn off their phone's geotagging function.