Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car

If you wanted to make a tasteless joke about it you should have said car since that was the weapon used. But this wasn't a mass killing, this was a homicide due to jealousy. It wouldn't even be noteworthy if there wasn't an airtag involved.

Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car

#6

Post by thatswrong0 » Sun, Jun 12, 2022, 2:42 AM UTC

From what I can tell based on the news coverage, GPS trackers didn't exist before AirTags.

But seriously though, this does seem like the kind of thing Apple and Google should collaborate on and establish a standard so that any mobile operating system can notify people of unwanted trackers without requiring the installation of an app.

Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car

#7

Post by pryce » Sun, Jun 12, 2022, 2:45 AM UTC

For those wanting to understand the wider implications of this, Eva Galperin over at the EFF has been trying to raise awareness against stalkerware for a while. She cofounded the Coalition Against Stalkerware [1] and has a TED talk here [2]. I suspect, sadly, that we're going to see a lot more of this in future.

[1] https://stopstalkerware.org

[2] https://www.ted.com/talks/eva_galperin_what_you_need_to_know...

Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car

#8

Post by witheld » Sun, Jun 12, 2022, 2:51 AM UTC

thatswrong0 wrote: post #6

From what I can tell based on the news coverage, GPS trackers didn't exist before AirTags. But seriously though, this does seem like the kind of thing Apple and Google should collaborate on and establish a standard so that any mobile operating system can notify people of unwanted trackers without requiring the installation of an app.

These aren’t GPS trackers though- GPS trackers are expensive, use a considerable amount of power, and require subscription fees to a service provider.

An AirTag is a dumb BLE chip that screams occasionally, and piggybacks off everyone’s iPhones which already have both GPS and cell subscriptions.

Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car

#9

Post by quanto » Sun, Jun 12, 2022, 2:56 AM UTC

Whenever some AirTag news come up, I see the argument that GPS trackers had existed for a while, and they could be purchased readily through AliExpress. The argument implies that additional threat posed by the prevalence of AirTag is non-existent as the threat model had existed before.

This argument misses the point that to a non-technically-minded consumer, AirTag made stalking significantly easier not only on a technical ground (Apple's familiar UIUX), but also on an emotional ground -- Apple is an admired premium brand, and instead of buying some sketchy equipment from a no-name seller, one can walk into a pleasantly appointed Apple store and pick an AirTag on a coffee break. It makes the whole experience _feel_ more legitimate and kosher, if not pleasant.

Accessibility of a tool whether on technical, emotional, or legal grounds makes material difference in adoption and usage of said tool.

Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car

#10

Post by avindroth » Sun, Jun 12, 2022, 3:01 AM UTC

quanto wrote: post #9

Whenever some AirTag news come up, I see the argument that GPS trackers had existed for a while, and they could be purchased readily through AliExpress. The argument implies that additional threat posed by the prevalence of AirTag is non-existent as the threat model had existed before. This argument misses the point that to a non-technically-minded consumer, AirTag made stalking significantly easier not only on a tec…

I agree with everything up until “A serious crime suddenly becomes a hip experience.” I think that’s taking it a bit too far (and demonizing Apple a bit).