Technology

Build a large enough catalogue of bulk data and anything can be used to track you.

We bought "It's just so we can catch the terrorists!" hook, line, and sinker post-9/11.

But when "terrorism" is redefined as "making people in power upset," we're in big trouble.

So don't say anything rude about Donald Trump or the FBI will seek you out:

https://invidious.perennialte.ch/watch?v=QS4bVx74nxU

It seems easier to set up a camera and scan the license plate for identification instead of using radios for logging TPMS sensors.

Would it be an advantage to identify a car by logging the TPMS sensors?

However, the researchers found that these tire sensors also send a unique ID number in clear, unencrypted wireless signals, meaning that anyone nearby with a simple radio receiver can capture the signal, and recognize the same car again later

Its not quite the same ball game. Sure its not great that the government can track easily with ALPRs, but this type of tracking is available to nearly anyone and could be used for significant crimes like stalking or human trafficking. It can also be done without a sightline of the car, unlike a camera system.

Me too.

Hey, that's my line.

You are correct, the only thing worth mentioning is when the laws were created/written it did not account for someone creating a database that is easily searchable/queried to infer all these extra habits of people.

Its one thing visually seeing someone over and over walk or drive by your house while you sit on your porch. It's another thing to now know where they came from and where they went if you were able to sit on every porch at the same time in a town or city.

This is why police tails need to be granted by a judge, but a interconnected network of cameras at the moment does not recieve the same scrutiny.

They mention this in the article. The difference is that since the tire sensor sends out an RF signal, direct line of sight isn't necessary. You could throw a tracker up on a roof and grab signals from a block over.

The missing part may be tying that signal to a specific car, but say your car gets pulled over - they could read your tires' sensor ID and compare it to where they captured it and bam! Now you're fucked.

So far I have had success in getting my new car unable to blast out all sorts of uniquely identifiable RF except for this TPMS thing. Does anyone have suggestions on how to deal with this one? Is there maybe a specific brand of sensors that doesn't send out beacons like this once already paired?

Not to mention the cell phone most of us carry.

As someone who has gotten a flat and not noticed until the tire was destroyed multiple times, I love TPMS systems. They save me money in the long run as the tire can be patched instead of replaced.

Or just replace your tyres with ones with non sensor.

That said it is a little annoying. My dash is forever telling me it can't talk to the tyres.

By "aren't hard to remove" you actually mean requires dismounting the tire from the rim, remounting it, and then balacing it. This is far beyond the capabilities not to mention equipment of the typical layperson. Plus, your state is likely to conveniently fail your car on its next inspection for a nonfunctioning TPMS system, same as your check engine light.

If you're going to go the distance anyway, get your tire shop to mount aftermarket Autel sensors in your rims. Using the readily available diagnostic tool, you can occasionally reprogram those (wirelessly!) with a set of random IDs and then also program your car to use them. You'll be a lot tougher to track if your signature is different every week.

I'm not about to do this just yet, but I do have the tool for more mundane purposes and I only paid around $200 for it several years ago.