A new “geolocation information generator” has been launched on the internet. Its creator, Yiannis Kakavas, has given it the intriguing name of Creepy. Many privacy rights advocates have raised their concerns about the potential impact of this application to individual privacy. What can this new application do and why should it cause such concern?
Creepy is an application package for Linux or Windows. The third package that is still in the process is planned for Mac OS X. As a geolocator, this app makes use of data from social networking services in order to pinpoint a user’s location. It gathers the information supplied by the user to the network and puts these pieces of information together. Although comparatively new in the internet, the software consistently shows its efficiency in doing the job.
Creepy has an in-built search utility to find any individual in the internet. All that the user has to do is to input the Twitter or Flickr username of that individual then hit the “Geolocate Target” button. Creepy will then download all photos or tweets that the individual has published or posted. From each of the downloaded materials, Creepy will be specific with the user’s location at the time the information was published.
The software then gathers every piece of information existing to make up a meaningful collection of data. After processing, a map showing the user’s different locations is presented. Taken one by one, these data locations do not tell any significant information, but when gathered together as a whole, it will really tell much about the target. The user’s “publication” history is exposed, comprising his or her most frequented places or hang outs, the area around his or her residence, and even his or her office.
The program was completed by Kakavas in only three months. He was able to gain access to and make use of publicly-available libraries like osmgpsmap, pyexif2, and tweepy. In his mind, Kakavas believes that he made available something that will make people value their privacy. He would like users to be more aware of the dangers of careless distribution of their personal information online.
He explains that it is not that difficult to aggregate small pieces of data in order to create larger, more meaningful information. Ironically, it would be too late for users to realize that it would have been better if they did not share those bits of information at all. Some of these are home addresses, places of work, the places they hang out most often when they are not at home, and many others.
Further, he said that the other reason he created Creepy is for social engineers to have a tool for information gathering. Especially for security analysts, Creepy can be used to perform penetration testing. Information that is gathered can be used for various purposes in the future.
Using a software application like Creepy pinpoints where you are all the time.. The opposite of this is to use an encrypted proxy to change your IP address which hides your actual location.