Live data from Hacker News

Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

twitter.com

11–20 of 383 posts

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#11
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And AirTags even alert those (iPhone users) being tracked so they are even less practical

Except for the folks who aren't iPhone users, which is the majority of people.

Apple released an app for Android users to alert them if an AirTag is “following” them: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/android-users-get-this-appl...

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#12
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And AirTags even alert those (iPhone users) being tracked so they are even less practical

Except for the folks who aren't iPhone users, which is the majority of people.

There is now an app called „Tracker Detect“ from Apple (for Android) to search for AirTags around you. It hasn’t the ability to use AirTags like on the iPhone but at least you can find one that has been left around you.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#13
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And AirTags even alert those (iPhone users) being tracked so they are even less practical

Except for the folks who aren't iPhone users, which is the majority of people.

> which is the majority of people.

Depends on where you live. I live in a fairly affluent area, and everyone has iPhones.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#14
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cost (very low) and ease of use make this different.

How so? You can get GPS trackers for less than an airtag

Most GPS trackers however need a SIM card, which would be traceable.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#15
post #8

Surely Apple can use information from their Find My account to figure out who the AirTag was registered to. Even if the tag has been destroyed. That should be trivially easy, right?

I believe that's where the advice to hand an AirTag to the authorities come from?

From here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT212227

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#16
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How so? You can get GPS trackers for less than an airtag

Most GPS trackers however need a SIM card, which would be traceable.

To what? A point of sale? AirTags can be tracked to where they were sold as well in the same way.

Some countries might have some sort of construction where you need to provide some form of identification but that only applies to the most obvious avenues to buy a SIM-card for the public. It's not like the shady MFA-farms with the 100-modem appliances are fed by a person actually buying 100 SIM-cards without getting caught or something like that... (and then there is false identification which often is a crime by itself but misbehaving persons might not really care about that)

AirTags in this case are just blamed because they are actually detectable by normal users, and that makes it an 'impression' problem, not a new problem.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#17
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And AirTags even alert those (iPhone users) being tracked so they are even less practical

Except for the folks who aren't iPhone users, which is the majority of people.

I've been using AirGuard on my Android. It's FOSS. Available on Play.

https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#18
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for the folks who aren't iPhone users, which is the majority of people.

Maybe some sort of audible alarm could be in order. Let say every 1-4h hours.

> AirTags will beep if they are away from their owner's iPhone - at a random time between eight and 24 hours

However, it's possible to damage the speaker, so it becomes silent, without damaging the AirTag itself.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#19
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for the folks who aren't iPhone users, which is the majority of people.

Maybe some sort of audible alarm could be in order. Let say every 1-4h hours.

They actually do start an audible alarm after being separated from their owner, starting sometime between 8 and 24h after separation. I don’t know the interval though.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#20
post #2

this is hardly a new attack when GPS trackers existed before

The impression most people have is that this is highly available, small, easy to use, cheap, and there is plausible deniability in the intention of purchasing one. Now, there may be other solutions with some or all of those qualities to varying degrees, but the simple fact that the impression is popular necessarily means that it will see usage in cases where the perpetrator would otherwise not have committed the act.…

It is indeed an impression problem. Doing this with LoRa for a lower price has been possible for a very long time and you don't even need a large network for that due to the significant range. Basic triangulation built in to friendly software using existing radios and then simply getting closer with a hand-held transceiver isn't exactly hardcore hacking either. And with the low entry cost and non-detectability by practically any target it's a way worse issue than AirTags or Tiles could ever be.
Post reply on HN